Better Regulation Practices across the European Union 2025

Malta

Overview

Malta fundamentally changed their approach to regulatory impact assessment (RIA) with revisions to the Small Business Act (SBA) in May 2021, which introduced requirements to conduct RIA for primary laws, underpinned by an updated template. The SBA has required RIA for subordinate regulations since the Act was first established in 2011. The legislative changes made in 2021 also streamlined RIA requirements for subordinate regulations by, for example, requiring fewer impacts to be assessed. Finally, the SBA continues to require that policymakers conduct an SME test to evaluate the potential impact of proposed primary laws or subordinate regulations on small and medium enterprises.

Public consultation is required for all primary laws and subordinate regulations. Online consultations are accompanied by a feedback report, summarising the views of participants and providing general feedback on the comments received. While Malta continues to systematically use a variety of mechanisms for consultation on draft rules – such as physical and virtual public meetings, and online consultations – early-stage consultation to gather and compare different options remains sporadic.

Although the Maltese government undertakes reviews of existing rules, there is no explicit requirement for periodic ex post evaluation nor is there a standardised methodology. Members of the public can raise issues with existing rules through the servizz.gov.mt online portal.

Responsibilities for regulatory policy and reform are dispersed across various government bodies. The Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary provides central co-ordination on regulatory policy, guidance on better regulation, and is responsible for administrative simplification. Within the Office of the Prime Minister, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Social Dialogue is responsible for the quality control of stakeholder engagement (particularly online consultation). The Cabinet Office provides central oversight on the quality of RIAs. The Ministry for the Economy, European Funds, and Lands is responsible for implementing the SBA and providing guidance and quality control on the SME Test.

In focus: Recent developments and next steps

Building on the introduction of RIA requirements for primary laws, the Maltese government has an opportunity to boost transparency and meaningful engagement by consulting on RIAs and publishing them online. In addition, Malta could better underpin existing requirements to assess the impacts of multiple options by systematically seeking public input to help identify possible solutions before rules are drafted.

Over the last few years, the Maltese government has conducted several ad hoc reviews on specific sectors and policy issues, ranging from health to waste management and money laundering. Building a more systematic approach to ex post evaluation – through requirements, guidance, and training – could help ensure the regulatory stock remains effective in delivering positive outcomes for citizens.

Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG): Malta

Note: The more regulatory practices as advocated in the OECD Recommendation on Regulatory Policy and Governance a country has implemented, the higher its iREG score. The indicators on stakeholder engagement and RIA for primary laws only cover those initiated by the executive (100% of all primary laws in Malta). Transparency is one of the four dimensions that underpin each of the composite indicators on stakeholder engagement, RIA and ex post evaluation. The transparency score presents the aggregate of that dimension across the three indicators. More information can be found in the Reader’s Guide.

Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG).

Malta: Regulating for…

People	Identify likely distributional effects when designing rules
	Assess impacts on different age groups when designing rules
	Assess impacts on social groups when designing rules
	Provide mechanisms for the public to give feedback on existing rules ▲
Planet	Assess impacts on the environment when designing rules
	Assess the social costs of carbon emissions when designing rules
	Assess the social costs of carbon emissions when reviewing rules
	Focus on environmental sustainability when reviewing rules ▲
Future	Address innovation-related challenges when designing rules, e.g. with increased agility or flexibility ▲
	Co-ordinate cross-government to identify regulatory issues related to innovation ▲
	Use data-driven approaches to monitor the impacts of rules ▲
	Address innovation-related challenges when reviewing rules ▲
Effectiveness	Identify a process for assessing progress in achieving regulatory goals
	Base inspection and enforcement activities on risk criteria ■
	Have regulation or policy on risk-based inspections ●
	Identify unintended consequences of rules

All primary laws/ ▲ Yes ■ Required ● Yes, there is a regulation and a policy

Major primary laws/ ● Yes, there is a regulation

Some primary laws/ ■ Not required but allowed ● Yes, there is a policy

Never/ ▲ No ■ Not allowed

Note: The data reflects the Malta’s practices regarding primary laws initiated by the executive.

Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG) 2024.