With just 26 open infringement cases, Malta is the fourth-best performer in the EU, bested only by Latvia (20 cases), Lithuania (22 cases) and Estonia (24).

This was revealed in a statement by the European Commission published on Tuesday. The countries with the most infringement procedures that are open are Italy (99), Belgium (92) and Spain (91).

The 30th annual report on monitoring the application of EU law shows how member states are performing in applying EU law. There were fewer infringements open at the end of 2012 than in previous years. The number of cases in problem solving mechanisms such as EU Pilot increased.

This reflects the determination of the EC to work with the member states to solve problems and improve compliance, the Commission said.

Environment, transport, taxation and internal market and services were the four most infringement-prone areas, together representing more than 60% of all the cases.