Att: Non-Maltese EU citizens: discrimination

I refer to a (navy blue) explanatory leaflet which was paid for out of your taxes, published by the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment and then delivered to your letterbox in May.

Given that the water and electricity bills issued to 21,000 non-Maltese EU citizens are bilingual, it is unacceptable that this flier/application form, entitled ‘Allowance lill-Familji’, was printed in Maltese only.

It outlines your entitlement to an energy allowance on your water and electricity consumption tariffs to the following effect:

‘….The government will give €30 per household plus €25 for each person such that a single person household will receive €55……..’

However, whether you are an owner-occupier, tenant or liable for energy bills issued in your landlord’s name, your eligibility for both this energy allowance and the eco-reduction on your electricity consumption tariffs is based on the number of registered occupants on your energy bills.

Are you satisfied, therefore, that the correct number of householders (including infants and minors) is printed at the top right hand corner of your (new format) energy bills?

If not, it is recommended you contact the Water Services Corporation / Enemalta billing entity, ARMS Ltd. to register same.

In addition, you are advised to scrutinize the Applicable rates box on the second page of your (new format) bills to ascertain whether you are being billed at the ‘residential’ as opposed to ‘domestic’ rate, the latter being over 30% more expensive in respect of energy consumption tariffs and constituting the costliest household electricity rate in the European Union.

As an EU citizen, you are legally entitled to identical treatment to that accorded to Maltese nationals regarding deposit refunds, applicable rates, energy allowance and eco-reduction eligibility as well as in relation to the administrative procedure in registering the correct number of householders with ARMS Ltd.

Maltese nationals are required to complete a simple ‘change in number of persons declaration’ form and produce a copy of their identity card to effect the latter.

Moreover, the steadfast objections of Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party to institutional discrimination against you regarding this issue and your European Parliament voting rights have been a matter of public record for some time:

1) Gozonews.com, 28/02/10: ‘AD participates in utility bills demonstration’:

‘…….Richard Schranz, AD spokesperson for Consumer Rights, added, “We are also concerned with the discriminatory treatment of 21, 000 non-Maltese EU citizens who are not eligible to receive energy grants and eco-reductions in respect of water and electricity consumption tariffs. Besides, non-Maltese EU residential owner-occupiers are also being denied refund of guarantee deposits. Such discrimination is unacceptable in an EU member state.” https://gozo.news/12383/ad-participates-in-utility-bills-demonstration/

2) Gozonews.com, 17/10/08: https://gozo.news/5962/ad-asks-corporations-if-deposits-have-been-refunded-to-eu-residents/

3) Gozonews.com, 10/10/08: https://gozo.news/5706/non-maltese-eu-citizens-discrimination-readers-letter/

The Maltese authorities, therefore, are duty bound to be in compliance with EU law at this juncture.

Nevertheless, should you encounter any institutional hindrances to the exercise of your EU rights in this connection, I recommend you avail of the following e-mail address — SG-PLAINTES@ec.europa.eu — it is an easy, free-of-charge means of filing a complaint with the European Commission vis-à-vis any issue where you perceive a conflict between national and European Union law.

Yours faithfully,

Oisin Jones-Dillon

Saint Paul’s Bay

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