The European Commission has decided to refer Malta to the European Court of Justice if within three months the adjustment of its monopoly for the importation, storage and wholesale of petroleum products is not completed.
Under the accession treaty, Malta was required to adjust its legislation by 31 December, 2005, but, despite some progress following the Commission’s reasoned opinion in June of this year, Malta has still not completed the adjustment process. In particular the process of putting in place an open and non-discriminatory licensing regime does not yet appear to be complete.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “Over three years after its accession, Malta is finally taking the right steps to open its fuel market to competition. This is a very positive development, but it is not yet complete. I want to be sure that Malta completes the process and that the licences which should have been issued in time for trading to commence no later than 1 January, 2006 are now issued. If not, we will have to refer Malta to the European Court of Justice”
Under Article 31 of the EC Treaty, Member States are obliged to adjust any state monopolies of a commercial character so as to ensure that there is no discrimination between nationals of member states regarding the conditions under which goods are bought and sold.
According to the accession treaty, Malta had to ensure that petroleum products could be traded through a licensing system allowing licensees to trade from 1 January, 2006 at the latest. So far the state corporation Enemalta is the only company holding such a licence.
In July and October 2007, Malta adopted legislative measures that create a framework for the licensing procedure. At this stage, it does not appear, however, that all the necessary implementing measures have been adopted. The Commission has therefore decided to take Malta to the Court if Malta has not complied within three months. The Commission will be in contact with the Maltese authorities to discuss the matter.
A letter of formal notice was addressed to Malta in October, 2006. Subsequently, a reasoned opinion was addressed to Malta in June 2007.