Malta should adopt more stringent measures since this water is being discharged in sensitive areas, the court added, saying that the country is failing to efficiently monitor its sewage discharge.

The court even said that Malta would not be able to comply with requirements until 2026, meaning Malta’s seas will remain polluted by untreated sewage.

In response to this ruling, the environment ministry will be performing a “comprehensive analysis” to determine the next steps.

However, the ministry did argue that the court’s decision assessed Malta’s position in October 2017 – excluding improvements made to Malta’s sewage treatment systems made since.

This issue has been ongoing since 2015 when the European Commission first flagged the issue. It issued a formal notice in 2016 and a reasoned opinion in 2017.

The Commission took Malta to court in 2022, arguing that the quality of the water exiting Malta’s sewage treatment plants remained below standard.

The Nationalist Party (PN) also reacted to this news, saying that this ruling is another instance that shows that the Labour government is dumping the environment as a whole.

The Opposition Party said it had been highlighting the lack of capacity of the two sewage treatment plants for a while, but the responsible minister continued to deny that their policies had caused the problem.

Ironically, the Environmental Health Directorate warned bathers not to swim in Ta’ Xbiex yesterday afternoon because the sea quality has been impacted by sewage.

The case is currently being investigated.

Do you think Malta has a problem with sub-par sewage facilities?