The Commission is currently gathering all relevant information with the aim of examining whether the construction of the departure tax at Malta airport is compatible with Community legislation. Consequently, it is too early at this stage to provide a definitive conclusion.

The Commission will, without any prejudice, carefully look into the arguments brought forward by the Honourable Member. The investigation will verify whether the construction of the departure tax at Malta airport is discriminatory.

If the existence of discrimination is established, the Commission will examine whether any such discrimination is incompatible with Community legislation. For instance, discrimination of own nationals is not prohibited under certain circumstances by the EC Treaty.