Much like it happens in our local courts, the European Commission has demanded clarification from the Government of Malta in relation to a problem before it is taken to the litigation stage.

In a letter which was published by the opposition yesterday, it emerged that the European Commission has serious misgivings about the procurement process, saying that the changes in emission limits made shortly before the tendering process for the Delimara power station extension came to an end were “not necessary to comply with European legislation”.

The contents of the letter state, in no uncertain terms, that there is a strong feeling within the European Commission that Malta could have breached EU legislation. The government, on the other hand, has said that it will not publish its replies on the issue and will keep the matter private.

If one reads through the letter, it is clear that the European Commission wants a clear explanation as to why the emission thresholds were changed, and more specifically, what the exact date was. They are seeking clarification on this, especially because no such mention was made to the commission in the calendar of events on the tendering process which was submitted to the EC. In other words, it was done behind the EC’s back and without it being put in the official document which is related to the tender process for the extension of Delimara.

We have to ask… what on earth is going on? The whole Delimara extension process has looked fishy from the start. People – experts and Joe Public – were (and still are) not happy on two counts: The choice of fuel which is not the cleanest around and the whole shady way in which the drama unfolded. The perception out there on the streets is that this was (excuse the pun), a dirty deal. It seems that it is not only the people of Malta who think in this way, the European Commission does too.

There seem to be far too many coincidences: The company which lent the money to Enemalta does business with BWSC (or one of its many partners), the changes – at a very late stage in the tendering process – to emission level legislation, the choice of fuel, the choice of builders… the questions go on and on.

All the while, the feeling of apprehension and distrust is being fuelled by the government’s own decision to remain silent. Yes it has replied to the European Commission, but it has not put anyone’s mind at rest by saying that it is going to keep the correspondence private.

The Marsa power plant must stop functioning in 2012. Where will that leave us? There has been no word on the undersea cable to Sicily for a fairly long time. People fear the worst. If the Delimara extension does not go ahead; will Malta be facing fines and penalties? Will we be fined for having breached procurement legislation? The people deserve an answer and this “practice of keeping correspondence private” is absolute nonsense. The European Commission is Europe’s watchdog and it clearly believes that something is amiss. The government got away with pooh-poohing everyone’s concerns locally, but it will not do so with Big Brother (thankfully). If the government truly has nothing to hide and everything is above board, then it should publish the letter it sent to the Commission. Failure to do so will only reinforce the already widespread belief that things are fishy; to say the least. Publish it.