PERUGIA (ITALPRESS) – Filling up with fuel in Malta costs up to one euro per liter less than in Italy, despite the archipelago having no refineries on its territory and importing nearly 39% of its refined petroleum products from Italy. This is according to an investigation by Corriere dell’Umbria, by director Sergio Casagrande, which lifts the veil on a true economic and market paradox. In Valletta, prices at the pump remain at significantly lower and stagnant levels: 1.21 euros per liter for diesel and 1.34 euros for gasoline, compared to an Italian average that far exceeds 2 euros per liter. The gap is not justified by a more lenient tax regime: the newspaper highlights that Malta is the European Union country with the highest percentage of taxes on the final price of fuel (56.3% on gasoline and 54.3% on diesel, compared to 51.9% and 43.7% in Italy). The substantial difference lies in the energy strategy adopted by the Maltese government. As explained in the report, the island combats inflation and speculation not with temporary emergency cuts in excise duties, but with a structural plan based on the deliberate use of hedging—financial contracts to hedge against international price fluctuations—combined with direct state subsidies. This system guarantees price stability for businesses and families, leaving open the question of the dynamics that govern price lists and the formation of prices passed on to Italian motorists. – Photo: Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
