Transparency Malta <transparencymalta@gmail.

com>

Fwd: Your Europe Advice enquiry ******

1

From: GROW-YOUR-EUROPE-ADVICE@ec.europa.eu <GROW-YOUR-EUROPE-ADVICE@ec.europa.eu> Sent:

Friday, 19 June 2020, 10:18
To: ***********************
Subject: Your Europe Advice enquiry *********

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find below the reply to your enquiry. Please note that the advice given by Your Europe Advice is an
independent advice and cannot be considered to be the opinion of the European Commission, of any other EU
institution or its staff nor will this advice be binding upon the European Commission, any other EU or national
institution.

Thank you for contacting Your Europe Advice.

Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union bans all forms of discrimination based on
nationality. The Maltese authorities are not allowed to discriminate EU citizens on the basis of nationality - any
decision to treat you differently to a Maltese national would need to be based on lawful considerations and cannot be
discriminatory. This means that in Malta, other EU citizens must be treated in the same way as Maltese citizens in
comparable situations. The obligation applies to both public and private organisations.

The conduct mentioned in your query whereby the Maltese government indicated that only Maltese citizens who are
on the General Elections Electoral Register will get the EUR 100 COVID-19 vouchers appears to amount to direct
discrimination contrary to EU law.

In line with Article 24 of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move
and reside freely within the territory of the Member States you have a right to equal treatment with Maltese nationals.

Article 7(2) of Regulation 492/2011 on the free movement of workers states that workers who are nationals of a
Member State must enjoy the same social and tax advantages as national workers. This is also dealt with by
Directive 2014/54/EU on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom
of movement for workers. As an EU citizen living and working in Malta you have the same rights as Maltese citizens.

It would appear that the Maltese government has now changed its position and that you will be able to benefit from
the initiative mentioned in your query as reported here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/foreigners-resident-in-
malta-to-get-vouchers.799455. The vouchers should now be distributed not only to Maltese citizens on the electoral
register but also to any person on the Identity Malta database - non-Maltese citizens having a residence permit in
Malta will also receive the vouchers: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/only-maltese-citizens-will-get-100-
covid-19-vouchers.799380.

(...)

You may contact the Maltese equality body – the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) that is
also responsible for matters related to the free movement of workers. Here are the contact details:

Address: Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda HMR 9010 Malta
Website: http://www.equality.gov.mt/
Email address: equality@gov.mt
Telephone number: 00356 22957850

If you consider that you have been treated unfairly you may also submit a complaint to the NCPE as explained here:
https://ncpe.gov.mt/en/Pages/Complaints.aspx
If you continue to face problems as a result of a breach of EU law by the Maltese authorities, you could request the
help of SOLVIT, our sister organization.

SOLVIT is an online problem solving network in which EU countries work together to solve (without legal
proceedings) problems caused by breaches of EU law by public authorities. The services provided by SOLVIT are
free of charge. The target deadline for finding a solution to the problem is 10 weeks (once all the necessary
documents have been received and the case has been accepted by the SOLVIT centre of the country where the
problem has occurred).

Please do not forget to mention to SOLVIT that you have been advised by YEA to call on this service and give them
our reference number. If possible, please attach our reply when you submit your complaint to SOLVIT.

Submit your complaint to SOLVIT : http://ec.europa.eu/eu-rights/enquiry-complaint-form/home?

redirectTo=sol&origin=SCdirectlink&languageCode=en

Legal references:
- Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=
CELEX:12012E/TXT
- Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within
the territory of the Member States: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=
OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF
- Regulation (EU) 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011R0492&from=EN
- Directive 2014/54/EU on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom
of movement for workers: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0054&from=EN

We hope this information is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely,
Your Europe Advice