As announced last week following their visit to Malta (see EUROPE 12383/2), members of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE), who were sent on a mission to the island to assess the situation of the rule of law in the context of the investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, have asked the institution’s President, David Sassoli, to refer the matter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
At the initiative of Sophie in't Veld (Renew Europe, the Netherlands), who led the two-day mission, and the Chairman of the LIBE Committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar (S&D, Spain), the European Parliament President sent a letter to the President of the European Council on 12 December, coinciding with the opening of the Summit, which was attended by the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat.
Asked about this at the opening of the Summit, the Italian said that it was not up to Parliament to say whether the Prime Minister should resign, but that his role was “to report back to the European Council, which was empowered to take decisions on the rule of law”, as well as to “relay the feelings of the LIBE Committee”.
In his letter, David Sassoli reports the “worrying” trends observed by the deputies during their two-day mission, during which they met representatives of the police, NGOs, members of the journalist’s family and members of the judicial system.
For these elected officials, “urgent action” is needed to remedy, in particular, the shortcomings observed in the way the investigation is conducted. MEPs also suspect political interference in the investigation and generally believe that the law is poorly applied in corruption and money laundering cases, Mr Sassoli continued.
As European leaders began their Summit, Mr Sassoli considered it “important”, in this letter, that the European Council take a position on this subject. “Malta is part of the EU and all European institutions have a responsibility to ensure that European values are applied throughout the EU”, the Italian wrote.
Upon his arrival, Slovakian Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini assured that he was asking his Maltese colleague “what is the current situation in the country”. “He is sitting next to me and we have something similar in Slovakia. A journalist [Ján Kuciak] was also killed, but we have found the murderers. They are already in prison, so it is very different from what is happening in Malta”, he said.
Malta is a danger to the rest of the EU, according to Andrew Caruana Galizia
For the son of the Maltese journalist, Andrew Caruana Galizia, invited by Parliament’s anti-corruption intergroup to participate in a press conference, the two cases are, on the contrary, to be placed on the same level.
The murders of investigative journalists in two EU countries in just a few months should, he said, alarm European leaders. “It is naive to believe that these phenomena only concern the periphery of Europe. Malta’s dangerousness to the rest of the EU must be recognised: if the problems in Malta are not solved, they will spread to other Member States”, he warned.
In his view, the two cases also testify to the Union’s weaknesses and shortcomings when it comes to enforcing the rule of law.
“I expect the EU to completely change its approach and equip itself with the appropriate tools. A strong mechanism for monitoring the rule of law is essential and should reaffirm European values”, he said.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, he believes, should have the necessary powers to prosecute and investigate crimes of this magnitude throughout the EU, particularly when they involve national authorities. “The EU has succeeded in establishing a common currency. I can’t believe it can’t have a common judicial system”, he added.
Mr Caruana Galizia called on Europeans to put pressure on the island’s government to limit political interference in the investigation.
The members of the anti-corruption intergroup, for their part, reiterated their commitment to the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office with sufficient power and resources (see EUROPE 11938/8).
The situation in Malta will be debated in the European Parliament next week in Strasbourg. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Agathe Cherki with CG)