The government will be evaluating its position on service pensions, it said this evening.

It was reacting to news earlier today that Malta will be facing court proceedings instituted by the EU over service pensions after the European Commission this morning decided to step up its legal proceedings against Malta.

The government said that the Prime Minister had raised the issue with the president of the European Commission and the government would be evaluating its position on the alleged breach of EU regulations.

It would also ensure that its kept its electoral promise on this issue.

The Commission had started infringement procedures against the island following various petitions submitted by service pensioners over the past years. It insists that the deduction of ‘normal’ old age pensions for those who received a service pension from abroad is against EU law.

It said that since no measures were taken by the Maltese authorities to correct the situation, Malta would now be taken to the European Court of Justice for a final decision.

The issue goes back to 1979 when the government introduced legislation to start reducing pensions to those who had a second pension from abroad.

In the past years, the government started to address the problem.

The case may have substantial consequences on the island’s public coffers as the issue involves millions of euros in arrears.