Malta negotiated four energy-sector derogations in this legislature, including three on the EU's energy-reduction request.
Malta did secure multiple EU derogations on energy policy across 2022-2024 — including on the Council's October 2022 'Save Energy' demand-reduction package (5% peak-hour and 10% monthly cuts), and separately on aspects of the energy-tax and state-aid frameworks. The 4-of-which-3 framing maps to the public record, though the exact 'four' headline figure depends on how individual derogation files are counted (formal Council derogations vs. tailored arrangements within EU frameworks).
Malta did secure multiple EU derogations on energy policy across 2022-2024 — including on the Council's October 2022 'Save Energy' demand-reduction package (5% peak-hour and 10% monthly cuts), and separately on aspects of the energy-tax and state-aid frameworks. The 4-of-which-3 framing maps to the public record, though the exact 'four' headline figure depends on how individual derogation files are counted (formal Council derogations vs. tailored arrangements within EU frameworks).
We tested Dalli's claim against (1) Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 (the 'Save Energy' regulation), (2) Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1369 on coordinated demand-reduction measures, (3) the European Commission State Aid Temporary Crisis Framework approvals for Malta, and (4) the Energy Taxation Directive implementation record.
Mostly True. Under EU Council Regulation 2022/1854 (the 'Save Energy' regulation, October 2022), all member states were required to reduce gross peak-hour electricity consumption by 5% and overall consumption by 10% during the winter months. Malta secured derogations on the application of these targets, citing its position as an island system with non-interconnected peak demand. Across the 2022-2024 window Malta also negotiated specific arrangements on the Energy Taxation Directive, on state aid (Temporary Crisis Framework), and on aspects of REPowerEU implementation. The 'four derogations' headline maps broadly to the documented record. Limitations: some are derogations strictly speaking, others are tailored arrangements within EU frameworks — the precise count depends on counting methodology. The substantive claim that Malta secured energy-policy flexibility from Brussels at multiple points is supported.
Did Malta really negotiate four energy-sector derogations this legislature
Dalli's claim has two parts: four derogations in this legislature, three of them on the EU's energy-reduction demand. Both are checkable against the EU's published Council and Commission decisions.
What the EU's energy-reduction demand was
In response to the gas crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 in October 2022. Three core demands on member states:
- Reduce gross electricity consumption by 5% during peak-price hours.
- Reduce total electricity consumption by 10% relative to a 2017–2022 baseline, between November 2022 and March 2023.
- Apply a temporary windfall tax on inframarginal electricity revenues and a solidarity contribution on fossil-fuel companies.
Member states were allowed to apply for tailored arrangements where the headline targets were inappropriate to their generation mix, market structure, or interconnection. Malta — as an island system with limited interconnection (200MW interconnector + ~430MW domestic gas-CCGT capacity) and where peak demand is driven by air-conditioning rather than gas-heating — secured derogations on the application of the consumption-reduction targets.
The 'three derogations on energy reduction' framing maps to: (1) the 5% peak-hour reduction; (2) the 10% total reduction November–March; (3) the 5% mandatory reduction extended into the 2023–2024 winter. Malta's island-system case was accepted on each.
The fourth derogation — and what kind of 'derogation' it is
The fourth derogation Dalli is likely referencing relates to the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) — Malta has long held a derogation on excise rates on energy products, periodically renewed. Other candidates include:
- State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) — Malta's energy-subsidy programme has been notified and approved under the TCTF, with specific derogations on intensity caps and beneficiary categories.
- REPowerEU implementation — derogations on national energy-and-climate plan timelines.
- Energy Performance of Buildings Directive — Malta has secured tailored arrangements on building-stock targets given its small geography and dense urban form.
Whether Dalli's fourth is the ETD renewal or one of the other tailored arrangements isn't specified in the press conference quote. All four candidates are documented in EU decision records.
Are these technically 'derogations' or 'tailored arrangements'?
EU jargon distinguishes between formal derogations (where a member state is exempted from applying a directive or regulation) and tailored arrangements (where a directive applies but with member-state-specific parameters). Some of what Dalli is calling 'derogations' fall under the latter category. The political framing — 'we negotiated successfully' — applies to both, but readers should know the technical distinction.
So is the claim accurate?
The substance is supported: Malta did negotiate multiple specific arrangements across the 2022–2024 EU energy-policy cycle, including on the energy-reduction package. The headline 'four derogations, three of them on energy reduction' maps to the documented record, with the technical caveat that some are derogations strictly speaking and some are tailored arrangements within broader frameworks.
Verdict: Mostly True.