Malta's bilateral and multilateral approach with other countries with regards to its energy sector

Abstract

This study investigated the problem of energy-imports dependency in Malta, through the application of the approaches of bilateralism and multilateralism. The two approaches were analysed in the context of the changes that occured in the international system that created both challenges and opportunities for the Maltese Government in his quest for the best deal regarding the purchase of power. This is an important issue for Malta since energy-deficiency limits the economical and industrial development of the country. The main goal of this paper was to show what are the advantages and disadvantages of the two diplomatic approaches for Malta. To identify this, the bilateral negotiations with Libya and China and the EU's multilateral approach were examined. The conducted research included the analysis on a number of key literary works, online news reports, and a set of questions that were asked to Dr. Albert Caruana, the Director of the Continental Shelf Department, and Mr. Reno Calleja, a former Maltese Minister. Conclusions drawn from this research indicated that bilateralism and multilateralism offer the best solution for the situation of the energy sector in Malta.