Members of the Civil Liberties Committee and the former Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (PANA) on Thursday discussed the conclusions of a fact-finding mission to Valletta last month to assess the situation of the rule of law and several allegations of corruption and money laundering.

Maltese Minister of Justice Dr Owen Bonnici attended the meeting, as did two of the sons of the journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a bomb attack in October 2017.

Most of the MEPs criticised the lack of police action, despite the very serious evidence of maladministration involving even members of the Maltese government, and considered the situation in Malta a source of concern for the whole of the EU. Many pointed to the lack of transparency of the Citizenship by Investment programme. Some speakers also asked for more time to get a full and clear picture of what is going on in the country.

Mr Bonnici regretted that MEPs are not taking account of the significant reforms adopted by the Maltese government to address corruption and assured them that all serious allegations are being investigated. “It is completely false that this government has put the rule of law in the dustbin”, he stated.

You can catch up with the debate here