Since its first better regulation strategy introduced a decade ago, the Maltese government has put a strong emphasis on the improvement of the regulatory environment for businesses and citizens and the reduction of regulatory burdens. The “Small Business Act” (SBA), adopted in 2011 and revised in 2017, introduced a framework for ex ante impact assessment to be applied by ministries when developing regulations, including an SME-Test. RIA is however only formally obliged for subordinate regulations. Separately, the Maltese government has conducted several ad hoc reviews of existing laws and regulations in specific sectors aiming at reducing administrative burdens. However, Malta currently lacks a systematic approach towards reviewing whether laws and regulations achieved the intended policy goals, including a requirement to periodically evaluate existing regulations and a standardised methodology for ex post evaluation.
Stakeholder engagement is currently required for all subordinate regulations as part of the RIA process as well as for some primary laws in selected policy areas. Recent better regulation initiatives have been targeted at improving the accessibility of the regulatory process, for example through the introduction of a central portal for online consultations. Each online consultation is accompanied by a feedback report, summarizing the views of participants and providing feedback on the comments received. The transparency of the Maltese regulatory framework could be further strengthened by making RIAs available for consultations with stakeholders. Additionally, Malta could more systematically engage with stakeholders during the development of primary laws, specifically at an early stage, before a preferred regulatory decision has been identified.
