A Eurostat new release has confirmed that in November Malta had the lowest inflation rate in all the countries of the European Union. In fact, the rise in the cost of living in Malta was less than half of the increase observed across the Euro Area. In Lithuania, the country most affected by inflation, prices in November were 9.3% higher than they had been a year earlier. This means an inflation burden that is almost four times that in our country.

Malta’s energy policy crucial for low inflation

The main reason for this difference is the energy policy of the Robert Abela administration. While in Malta the price of electricity has been kept stable, across the Euro Area consumers have seen an average increase of 18%. This means that if an electricity bill used to be €100 in 2020, this year it has risen to €118, with the same consumption.

The worst affected are Dutch families who have seen their bills rise by an average of 75%, meaning where they previously spent €100 they now have to fork out €175. In Italy, the increase was 33%, while in Cyprus it reached 36%. In Greece bills rose by 38% while in Spain they jumped by 47%.

Locally it should be recalled that under the previous Conservative administration electricity bills had risen by three times the European average.

In Malta the price of electricity has been kept stable. Across the Euro Area it rose by 18%.

In addition to the increase in the price of electricity, there have been very strong increases across the European Union when it comes to the price of fuel. While in Malta the price of diesel and petrol remained stable, across the euro area there was a 33% increase. The worst impacted are consumers in Luxembourg, who have seen the price of fuel rise by 48%. In Italy the increase has been 27% so far, while in Cyprus it has reached 28%.

In Malta, under the previous Conservative administration the price of fuel in our country had risen by twice the European average.

Timely decisions taken by the Robert Abela administration led to Malta having the cheapest electricity bills in the Euro Area for the first time in history, as well as the lowest price of diesel in the European Union.

Contrast this with the record of the last Conservative administration led by Lawrence Gonzi, whose energy consultants now serve as policy advisors to Bernard Grech. In November 2012, Malta’s inflation rate was 3.6%, versus an average of 2.2% in the Euro Area. The same happened in November 2008 when the Government instead of helping families by easing the cost of living, had chosen to raise electricity bills and the price of fuel by much more than the rest of Europe. As a result, at the time, inflation in Malta was 5%, or twice the current rate.