Rule of law delegation’s doors open to other groups, says MEP

● PL MEP had accused MEPs of having ‘clear antigovernment agenda’

The European Parliament’s rule of law delegation is leaving its door open for meetings with other NGOs, one if its members has said in response to claims that the meeting line-up could be one-sided.

German MEP Sven Giegold told The Malta Independent that the EP’s civil liberties committee is open to meeting other NGOs who can make a substantial contribution to the subject.

Giegold, who forms part of the Greens in the European Parliament, is a member of a fivestrong delegation which will be in Malta today and tomorrow to investigate the state

of rule of law in Malta. The delegation is chaired by Dutch MEP and vice-chair of the ALDE group in the European Parliament Sophia in‘t Veld. Apart from Giegold, the delegation is then made up of Nationalist Party MEP Roberta Metsola, and MEPs Josef Weidenholzer and Monica Macovei. Weidenholzer forms part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), while Macovei forms part of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).

The draft programme for the MEPs visit to Malta shows that they will be holding a roundtable discussion with several NGOs and activists who are “active in the field of rule of law and the fight against corruption”. The programme lists NGOs Awturi, Il-Kenniesa, Civil Society Network, Occupy Justice and human rights foundation Aditus along with activists Manuel Delia, Andrew Borg Cardona and Ranier Fsadni as those who are tentatively participating in this discussion.

Asked by this newsroom about the fact that most of these NGOs and activists share the same ideals and whether this impinges on the impartiality and balance of the final report, Giegold said that they are meeting these NGOs and activists primarily because they are the ones who are most regularly in contact with the European Parliament. Giegold added that “the door is open” for any other NGO which can offer a ‘substantial contribution’ to the subject to meet the delegation.

Maltese MEP Miriam Dalli has criticised the delegation for the NGOs and activists it will be meeting, saying that most of them have a “set narrative” and are “certainly not representative of the Maltese population at large.”

Speaking to Malta Today, Dalli said that other names, “known for their impartial take on Malta,” had been put forward but were “for some reason” objected to. She added that as far as she is concerned, a “selection of people” that the delegation will be meeting “is heavily skewed with a clear agenda against the Maltese government.”

Something to be noted from the draft programme is that the delegation will not be meeting representatives from the Opposition either. Asked by this newsroom why this was the case, Giegold said that the choice of who the MEPs met was primarily down to the head of the delegation, Sophie in’t Veld, and that he had “marginal influence” in the process.

“In no other European country do these issues remain unanswered”

Speaking more generally about the delegation, Giegold said that there had been many attempts at “political spinning” from both sides of the House about the delegation’s aims in Malta.

Giegold said, however, that the true aim of the delegation was to follow up on the first delegation which came to the island last December and found a number of important issues which have not yet been addressed.

After the first rule of law delegation, MEPs had expressed serious concerns about the unclear separation of powers in Malta, which has been held as the source of the perceived lack of independence of the judiciary and the police, the weak implementation of anti-money laundering legislation, the serious problems deriving from the ‘investment for citizenship programme’ and the mention of Maltese politically exposed persons in the Panama Papers and their continuing presence in government.

Giegold told this newsroom that in “no other European country” do such issues go unanswered, and said that he would be questioning the government and other figures about these issues. The German MEP also expressed his disappointment that Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi, who courted controversy after being found to have an offshore company in Panama, was seemingly “not available” to meet the delegation, and that Brian Tonna from Nexia BT was likewise seemingly unavailable.

Giegold lamented that this was already “not a good sign” that things in Malta have changed since the last MEP rule of law delegation came to the island, as these figures seemed to still be “ignoring” the European Union.

He also pointed out that he expected the government to address other accusations that had been levelled against it in relation to the subject of rule of law. He said that he would be questioning the government about a variety of issues, including about unsolicited calls during the election period, whether there was a spike in the granting of planning permits immediately before the last general election, who the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the company 17 Black is and where the money in it is going, why a new magistrate was appointed to the case of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and also why the “dysfunctional” money laundering system that Malta uses has not been changed even after the European Banking Authority slammed it in a report last July.

Giegold concluded that these are the true “matters of concern” for the delegation and not the political spinning of party politics.