In a letter, the EU Parliament calls on the heads of state and government to make a statement on the situation in Malta at their meeting today. In a second letter, the European Parliament calls on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to initiate investigations into Malta in the context of proceedings under the rule of law. On Tuesday next week, the European Parliament in Strasbourg will debate a resolution on the situation in Malta. The resolution will be voted on Wednesday next week.
Sven Giegold, spokesman for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the European Parliament, said:
„The EU summit must not remain silent about the problems of the rule of law in Malta. European governments must not turn a blind eye to the culture of impunity for corruption and financial crime in Malta. The same applies to the new EU Commission. Malta is the first test for von der Leyen regarding the rule of law. The European Council and the European Commission must now find clear words and act“.
Letter from President of the European Parliament David Sassoli sent to Charles Michel, President of the European Council on the latest developments in the murder case of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia:
Letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen:
Dear President Von der Leyen,
In March of this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution winding up the work of the Rule of Law Monitoring Group, focusing in particular on Malta and Slovakia following the murders of investigative journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. Since the adoption of the resolution, Malta major developments have taken place in Malta.
After two years of very little visible progress in the investigation, recent weeks have witnessed a rapid sequence of events, including resignation of government members and their entourage, arrests of suspects in connection with the murder case, the granting of a pardon and further pardon requests, witness statements incriminating persons close to the Prime Minister, as well as growing public unrest and people taking to the streets.
Last week, an ad hoc European Parliament mission was sent to Malta. Members of all political groups participated in the mission. The leadership of the EP decided to send this urgent mission in light of the latest developments in the investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia as well as in light of the latest political developments.
The findings of our mission are very concerning and require urgent action. The state of the murder investigation and political developments in Malta require a prompt reaction form the Commission. We of course acknowledge and value the public statements you made last week in relation to Malta, as well as the statements made by Vice-President Jourova.
Furthermore, the concerns expressed in the March EP resolution, echoing those in the reports of the various bodies of the Council of Europe (Venice Commission, MONEYVAL, GRECO, PACE), the European Banking Authority and the European Commission itself, have not been allayed. We fear the separation of powers may be under threat, and very serious crime investigations may well remain unresolved. This will compromise EU police and justice cooperation, the integrity of the Schengen area, the internal market and all other EU policy areas that rely on mutual trust and respect for the rule of law.
The EP resolution reiterated its call on the Commission to enter into dialogue with the Maltese Government in the context of the Rule of Law Framework. To date, the Commission has not followed up on this call. By way of this letter, and especially in light of the recent developments, we once again urge the Commission to activate the procedure at the shortest possible notice, and take any other steps that will contribute to ensuring the rule of law is fully upheld in Malta.
With kind regards,