Commissie tikt Malta op de vingers i.v.m. importmonopolie petroleumproducten (en)

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request for information to Malta concerning its failure to abolish the monopoly for the importation, storage and wholesale of petroleum products. Under the Accession Treaty, Malta was required to comply no later than 1 January 2006 with Article 31 EC Treaty, which forbids discrimination between Member States’ nationals with regard to commercial state monopolies. The request for information takes the form of a letter of formal notice, the first stage of formal infringement procedures under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. Malta has two months to reply.

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 no discrimination regarding the conditions under which goods are procured and marketed exists between nationals of Member States.

According to the Accession Treaty Malta had to ensure that petroleum products could be traded through a licensing system by 1 January 2006. However, from the information available to the Commission no trading licences have been issued and Enemalta Corporation is still the only company authorised to import petroleum for the inland fuel market.

The necessary legislative measures to bring the system in line with Article 31 EC Treaty are reported to be under discussion, but have not been adopted so far.