Maltese consumers will have to pay an estimated additional €7 million this year on goods ranging from food to furniture as a result of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The extension of the scheme to the maritime sector last January increased the costs for local trailer operators by an average of €100 per trailer, regardless of the load.

Approximately 1,300 trailers use the Grand Harbour facilities every week.

Joseph Bugeja, chairman of ATTO, said these costs cannot be borne by the operators and importers are passing them on to the consumer.

The Association of Tractor and Trailer Operators, ATTO, represents approximately 80 per cent of trailer operations in Malta. 

Trailers parked illegally at It-Telgħa ta’ Ras Ħanżir in Corradino. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Speaking to Times of Malta, Bugeja argued that the “unjust” nature of the tax is compounded for islands like Malta because they are dependent on sea transport for essentials.

The ETS directive obliges shipping companies to compensate for their CO2 emissions by purchasing Emission Unit Allowances on the regulated market.

The European Commission says that the ETS makes polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, helps reduce emissions, and generates revenue to finance the EU’s green transition.

However, several stakeholders have questioned its effectiveness.

ATTO and the Malta Chamber of SMEs, which represents the hauliers, have criticised the government and Maltese MEPs for their inability to identify and address the potential impact of the ETS in time.

Bugeja said “it is never too late to make amends for the situation that has been created.  If there is anything the government can do to revive the matter, then let’s do it”.

ATTO has recently become one of the signatories of a manifesto on the position of the road haulage industry. 

Together with the Irish Road Haulage Association, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Malta Chamber, and the Malta Business Bureau, it has prepared an advocacy campaign urging EU institutions to revise existing road transport legislation in view of the distorted competition that exists between countries on mainland Europe and disadvantaged island operators.

Last May, Bugeja held meetings with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba, highlighting that Malta should actively seek to protect its transport sector.

Meanwhile, ATTO is in talks with national authorities about the lack of parking facilities and adequate infrastructure for trailers waiting to board.

Bugeja argued that the harbour’s infrastructure has not developed in line with the increasing development of the import/export market.

For this purpose, the association has identified two zones just behind the Kordin Grain Terminal which it believes can hold 50 trailers at one go.

Bugeja is also calling for the reorganisation of it-Telgħa ta’ Ras Ħanżir in Corradino, where most empty trailers are parked until they are green-lighted for boarding.

The area lies just a stone’s throw away from the Tony Bezzina Stadium. It can hold up to 45 trailers at one time and is constantly full.

Bugeja acknowledges the inconvenience they cause to stadium-goers but said the trailers parked there are regularly fined for illegal parking, even though the authorities have not provided adequate facilities for the operators.

For security reasons, the space on Lab Wharf is limited to cargo-carrying trailers but operators with empty trailers are not allowed in. 

Twelve trailers have been abandoned on this site for months, but nobody has made a move to clear them out.

Bugeja believes it is high time that it-Telgħa ta’ Ras Ħanżir is made available for operators without the constant threat of being fined. 

But first, it has to be marked, cleaned and reorganised, he said.