The European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager burst Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba’s bubble in his campaign against Maltese importers, whom he accused of arbitrarily raising prices to make more money, the Nationalist Party said on Monday.
The PN said that Agius Saliba’s case against importers, which he took to the European Commission for investigation, was him doing this in order to cover Robert Abela’s back.
This was stated in a press conference addressed by the Shadow Minister for Economy and Enterprise Jerome Caruana Cilia and PN MEP candidate Peter Agius. They said that last November Agius Saliba accused Maltese importers of breaking the law and raising prices whilst asking the President of the European Commission to investigate them.
They noted that the PN immediately said that Agius Saliba’s call for an investigation was ridiculous as it was a matter which fell within the remit of the Maltese government, specifically, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA).
The PN said that the European Commission had formally responded to Agius Saliba’s call for an investigation, with Vestager clearly saying it should be the Maltese Government who investigates abuse of prices in any business in Malta.
Caruana Cilia and Agius said that Agius Saliba is either incompetent or wishes to trick the people on insisting that that the European Commission must investigate the practices of Maltese importers. They said that the Labour MEP had either learnt nothing after five years in European Parliament or maliciously wished to draw attention away from the government.
Unfortunately, such cases show that the Labour MEPs are in the EU to protect the government rather than put forward the interests of the consumers, they said. They added that the EU needs competency and a dedication to the needs of the Maltese people as opposed to those who raise a fuss to draw the public’s attention.
The two PN speakers said that it is unjust that Maltese businesses have their reputations tarnished in the EU when it is actually the Government’s fault – the same government which still did not take action to investigate and regulate the market facing the allegations of abuse by the Labour MEP.
Caruana Cilia and Agius insisted that the government is responsible for maintaining a “level playing field” between businesses and to investigate anti-competitive behaviour. They said that this is the only way Malta can secure a free market in favour of the consumer, not against them.
By pointing fingers at the EU, the government is simply shirking its duty to give peace of mind to families, they said. The duo said that the PN believes in politics that offers peace of mind to families facing the cost of living.
They said that it can definitively be done by working on a new economic model which will create better wages. The Labour government’s failures can be clearly seen when one observes that Malta is the only country in the EU whose wages stagnated for the last 11 years. This is leading to worsening living conditions for Maltese families, the PN concluded.