Maltese MEP Alex Agius Saliba has won the unanimous backing of the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee coordinators for his call to investigate how the €3 customs charge lands on online shoppers in Malta.

His petition is set for discussion in January 2027. At its heart is a single worry: that charges tied to purchases from Temu and other large online platforms leave people in Malta paying more than shoppers in bigger member states. He wants the European Commission to say plainly whether the island’s location is leaving local buyers out of pocket and he has asked for corrective steps if an inquiry finds they are being treated unfairly.

Agius Saliba questioned whether Maltese consumers were paying more than they should. He argued that keeping an eye on the problem does not go far enough. “If the evidence shows that Maltese consumers are being treated unfairly, the necessary action must be taken to put things right,” he said.

The coordinators’ support came after a report on Wednesday that the Temu levy was heading for the European Parliament in January, with fellow Maltese MEP Peter Agius also backing a petition on the fallout from online shopping charges.

That green light is not the same as an inquiry. Neither an investigation nor any change to the charges has been confirmed. The January session is expected to press the Commission to spell out how the costs fall on consumers in smaller island states.

Agius Saliba sits with the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, where he was confirmed for a third time as a Vice-President of the group in October. He has leaned on the Commission over consumer questions before. In 2024 he asked it to investigate Maltese food importers for antitrust violations, a case in which the Commission told him the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority was well placed to deal with the practices at stake.