Global energy prices rose sharply, Malta paid energy subsidies for households, and Robert Abela decided to keep those subsidies in place rather than pass increases onto bills.
All three sub-claims documented. EU wholesale electricity rose ~10x at the 2022 peak; Brent crude hit $126/barrel in April 2026. Malta's subsidy programme has totalled hundreds of millions since 2022, and household tariffs have been held flat throughout.
All three sub-claims documented. EU wholesale electricity rose ~10x at the 2022 peak; Brent crude hit $126/barrel in April 2026. Malta's subsidy programme has totalled hundreds of millions since 2022, and household tariffs have been held flat throughout.
All three substantive components are documented. International energy prices spiked in 2022 (EU wholesale electricity rose roughly 10-fold at peak) and again with the 2026 Iran flare-up that pushed Brent crude to $126/barrel on 30 April 2026. Malta's subsidy programme — explicitly defended by Abela's government and continued in Budget 2026 — has totalled hundreds of millions of euros since 2022. Household electricity and fuel tariffs have been held flat through the entire 2022-2026 international price-spike window. No pass-through tariff increase has been imposed on Maltese households. True.
Did Malta really keep energy bills low while international prices spiked
Camilleri's three sub-claims are all on the public record.
The international price spikes
International energy prices spiked dramatically in 2022 — EU wholesale electricity rose roughly tenfold at peak as the Russia-Ukraine war and the resulting cut to Russian gas reshaped European energy markets. The 2026 Iran flare-up produced a second spike, with Brent crude hitting $126/barrel on 30 April 2026 — a four-year high — before falling back.
Throughout this period, EU member states had to choose between passing prices through to consumers or absorbing them via subsidies. Many countries chose pass-through and saw household bills rise materially.
Malta's response
Malta's subsidy programme — explicitly defended by Abela's government and continued in Budget 2026 — has totalled hundreds of millions of euros since 2022. Household electricity and fuel tariffs have been held flat through the entire 2022-2026 international price-spike window. There has been no pass-through tariff increase on Maltese households.
The European Commission has flagged this as a fiscal-sustainability concern (see our companion fact-check on EC pressure to cut subsidies), but the policy has continued.
So is the claim accurate?
All three components — international price spike, subsidy programme, no household pass-through — are documented in detail. The chain Camilleri described is correct.
Verdict: True.