PD asks European Commission to investigate fuel monopoly in Malta

Malta is breaching Article 37 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states that member states should adjust any state monopolies of commercial type to ensure that no discrimination occurs, the leader of the Democratic Party has warned the European Commission.

In a letter to the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, Anthony Buttigieg asked the Commission to investigate the ‘monopoly over fuel supplies’ in Malta.

The PD leader pointed out that unlike consumers in other EU member states, Maltese consumers could not choose which brand of diesel or petrol to purchase.

Enemed Co. Limited, which was state owned, was still the only company that imported, stored and sold petrol in the country.

According to Buttigieg, there were only two minor importers of diesel and Enemed still enjoyed a dominant position in the market.

Buttigieg said the Maltese government had no control over international fuel prices and price variations were often used for political convenience.

He said that one of the main reasons for the so-called monopoly was that nearly all of the storage facilities were owned by state-owned companies or the government.

“We feel that is incumbent on the European Commission to carry out a serious and thorough investigation into this matter,” Buttigieg said.