Nationalist MP Albert Buttigieg has petitioned the European Union to pressure Malta to enforce laws on noise pollution.
Buttigieg appealed to the European Parliament (EP) petitions committee to “implement effectively EU rights on the assessment and management of environmental noise”.
The appeal was received by MEP Peter Agius – a member of the petitions committee – who lodged it with the EP earlier this week.
While a European directive “gives Maltese residents the right to live in peace in their homes” by limiting exposure to noise, a lack of action on the part of authorities had left them “constantly under pressure and duress”, the petition argues.
“When called upon, local authorities do not intervene and when asked to do so... shrug off responsibility and point to another authority,” it says.
Loud music from entertainment establishments and noise from roadworks and construction were blamed for causing stress to residents, especially those in Sliema and St Julian’s.
Buttigieg said the petition had been prompted by “constant complaints” from residents, noting that when he was mayor of Saint Julian’s, he had reported numerous incidents of noise pollution only to be met by inactivity from authorities.
“Their first line of defence is that they don’t have anyone to look into it. They send [police] officers, the music gets turned down for an hour or so then turned back up,” he said, describing tackling noise in busy areas as a “cat-and-mouse” game.
The MP said the issue was made worse by the “fragmentation of the law”, leaving residents to deal with noise caused by myriad factors including construction, tourism and traffic congestion.
“Although the government has an agency set up with that mission, there’s no clear progress on the issue,” he said.
Environmental noise regulations are managed by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which said it focused on "environmental noise from traffic, aviation and industrial sites," in accordance with European directives.
It stressed that while it could "impose noise-related conditions in permits and request noise monitoring", it was not tasked with enforcement in most cases.
"ERA does not oversee nuisance noise from sources such as workplaces, neighbourhoods, construction sites or entertainment activities as these fall outside its enforcement scope and are regulated by other competent authorities," it said.
'EU action needed'
Agius said EU laws to protect against noise pollution were not being implemented in Malta, describing the issue as “happening all over the country.”
While bars and entertainment venues came in for particular criticism, the MEP insisted it was “not about attacking nightlife; the sector is important culturally and economically. But there needs to be a balance.”
He said the petition was a “call to action intended to raise the profile of an issue that affects thousands of people to an EU level’.
Rolled out by the European Commission in 2002, the Environmental Noise Directive requires all EU countries to publish ‘noise maps’ covering major roads, railways, airports and areas of more than 100,000 inhabitants – and action plans to manage that noise.
However, the directive does not set limits or targets on the levels of noise, instead leaving this to member states.
‘Enquiries every day’
John Fenech from the NGO Noise Abatement Society of Malta said the organisation received “enquiries every day” throughout the summer from people asking for information and help dealing with excessive noise.
Stressing that there were “no decibel limitations” prescribed by law, Fenech said only workplaces saw limits on noise levels and called for a “national threshold” across the country.
Slamming authorities for a lack of action on excessive noise, Fenech said responsible government entities were “only available during office hours, then it passes to the police,” but stressed the law was “subjective” in such cases.
However, Fenech expressed doubts in the EU’s willingness to act on the issue, noting that while the European Commission (EC) had rolled out the directive in 2002, it had failed to include rules and procedures to enforce it.
Responding to the concerns, Agius said the petition was aimed at putting pressure on the EC to act, stressing it had the power to enforce Malta to act.
“What I care about is that the Commission enforces it on Malta,” he said, adding “many other member states take noise enforcement seriously.”
How much is too much?
While decibel limits are not set by local or European laws, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends limiting road traffic noise to no more than 53 decibels and leisure activities to an average of no more than 70 decibels.
To put these figures in context, a typical conversation hits around 60 decibels, while a pneumatic drill five metres away will register around 100 decibels, according to research undertaken by the BBC.
Those at the front of a pop concert will encounter around 120 decibels while the pain threshold for noise is at around 140 decibels, the broadcaster said.
This is not the first time the issue of noise pollution in Malta has reached European ears. In 2017, the EC mulled taking infringement proceedings against the country following a complaint about traffic noise to the European Ombudsman.
Almost one third (30%) of Maltese residents reported concern over noise pollution from neighbours or from the street, the highest in the EU, according to the most recently available Eurostat data collected in 2020.