EU takes Malta to court over its hydrogen laws

Updated 3.46pm with Momentum statement

Malta is one of three countries facing infringement proceedings over its failure to transpose EU laws on hydrogen energy into law.

On Wednesday, the European Commission said it would be referring Malta, Greece and Portugal to the European Court of Justice “for failing to transpose into national legislation the EU’s recent rules to promote renewable energy”.

The new rules seek to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy across different sectors, increasing thresholds set in previous EU renewable energy directives.

For instance, the revised rules set a target of 29% renewable energy for the transport sector by 2030, while also encouraging the uptake of renewables in heating and cooling and construction.

The rules also introduce hydrogen mandates, saying renewable hydrogen would have to make up 42% of industrial hydrogen and 1% of transport energy by 2030.

However, many countries have reportedly scaled these targets back, saying they were unachievable in practice.

EU member states were expected to transpose the rules into national legislation by May 21 2025, with Malta, Portugal and Greece not meeting this deadline.

After failing to meet the initial target, all three were sent a formal notice in July 2025 and a reasoned opinion last December.

While Portugal and Greece were in hot water for “not having notified any transposition measures” in the first place, Malta is charged with not providing clear information on how it has transposed the directive.

In December’s reasoned opinion, Malta was chastised for “not having notified a correlation table or explanatory document specifying where each provision of the directive has been transposed,” the Commission said.

The situation persisted since then, with the Commission saying Malta has, to date, “not yet notified any correlation table or explanatory document specifying where they have transposed each provision of the directive”.

Malta’s failure to provide this information has led the European Commission to refer the matter to the European courts, asking it to impose financial sanctions on all three countries.

The news comes just as Malta unveiled its vision for the energy sector over the coming years.

The plans include building a third interconnector between Malta and Sicily, as well as exploring a new energy connection linking Malta to Northern Africa, with Malta acting as a clean energy hub connecting Europe to the African continent.

Malta is also pledging to up its renewable energy share from the current 17% to 25% by 2030, pointing to previously announced plans for an offshore wind farm and a large-scale battery storage system.

However, questions remain over the immediate future, with Malta’s hedging deal for its main source of energy, liquified natural gas, set to expire in August.

Malta has said it would be looking to sign a short-term hedging agreement to tide the country over until gas prices stabilise.

Momentum calls for bipartisan commitment

Reacting to the news, centrist political party Momentum expressed its "serious concern," with candidate Matthew Agius calling for this issue to "rise above partisan politics."

"Despite years of promises, Malta continues to register among the lowest shares of renewable energy in the European Union, underlining a persistent failure in long-term planning and political will," the statement read.

It added that this is a result of a lack of vision by both parties, urging them to commit to clear and measurable renewable energy targets that go beyond minimum EU requirements.

It also suggested both parties should present a credible and transparent roadmap for achieving these targets, cutting down red-tape, while investing "decisively" in renewable infrastructure and explore the potential of geothermal energy.

"Malta risks not only financial penalties but also continued dependence on imported fossil fuels and exposure to volatile energy prices. The time for excuses is over. Malta needs leadership, ambition, and accountability,” Agius said.