MEP Peter Agius hosts discussion with Maltese MEPs and Malta Maritime Forum addressing impact of EU rules on transport costs and Malta’s connectivity

Work together to change perverse EU rules on emission taxes, Malta Maritime Forum tells Maltese MEPs in Brussels

A discussion with the Malta Maritime Forum at the European Parliament was hosted today by MEP Peter Agius with the participation of all Maltese MEPs and their offices, with a view to achieving a coordinated national effort to change EU rules on maritime transport that are leading to higher transport costs and a regulatory loss of competitiveness for the Maltese maritime industry and the economy in general.

In a presentation to MEPs, the Malta Maritime Forum presented data showing how a shipping service from the Far East to Malta is paying an estimated €102,321 in extra charges in ETS (Emissions Trading System) allowance payments per call when compared to the same route to nearby ports in North Africa, which are not subject to ETS.

Malta Maritime Forum chairman Godwin Xerri explained that as a result of the ETS, growth in non-EU hubs has far outpaced that in EU ports, with 500,000 TEUs in the EU compared to 6 million TEUs in non-EU hubs.

Mr Xerri also explained how the transfer of business from Europe to North Africa is resulting in curtailed connectivity for Malta and the rest of Europe, with a spill-over effect on competitiveness.

Alex Montebello, vice-chairman of the Malta Maritime Forum, explained the unfair cost disadvantage suffered by EU transhipment hubs compared to competitors outside the Union, resulting in a transfer of business.

Malta Maritime Forum CEO Kevin J Borg outlined how the EU rules are having the undesired effect of “carbon leakage”, essentially transferring business while not achieving the emission reduction targets as intended.

MEPs Alex Agius Saliba, Thomas Bajada and Daniel Attard, as well as representatives from the offices of MEP David Casa and EP President Roberta Metsola, participated actively in the meeting.

The MEPs agreed that the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is imposing a disproportionate economic burden which overlooks the operational realities of Malta's maritime sector.

The discussion highlighted how the case for reform must be anchored not merely as a Maltese matter, but as a broader European concern in line with the competitiveness agenda currently being advanced by the European Parliament.

Several interventions also highlighted the need for a coordinated approach leveraging the IMO process and building coalitions. Presenting concrete data demonstrating that overall EU  emissions[KB1] targets would not be compromised was deemed crucial.

Concluding the event, MEP Peter Agius pointed out that matters such as the one at hand are of wider national interest and require a coordinated national effort from different actors to convince[KB2] different quarters within the European decision-making machinery.

“Our meeting today demonstrated a collective goodwill to advance the national interest in a coordinated fashion. Let us keep this going forward for the sake of Maltese families, workers and businesses,” concluded Peter Agius.