On Thursday 20 October, 5 years after the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, MEPs approved a motion for a resolution on organised crime, the Rule of law, corruption and media freedom in Malta with 564 votes in favour, 10 against and 17 abstentions (see EUROPE 13045/25).
MEPs welcomed the progress made, particularly with regard to judicial procedures and press freedom, but called on the Maltese government to do more. In particular, they insist that all those involved in the journalist’s murder be brought to justice and believe that Europol’s involvement continues to be necessary. They are concerned that the recommendations made in the report concluding the public enquiry into the 2021 killing have not been fully implemented.
They also call on the judiciary to move forward with the cases of corruption and money laundering at high levels of power revealed by Daphne Caruana Galizia. They point to the slowness and inefficiency of judicial proceedings and the lack of cooperation of the Maltese authorities with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Finally, they denounce the impunity of the former Maltese Prime Minister and his team.
The only amendments accepted were either formal or related to the convictions of the journalist’s killers. The amendments put forward by the Socialists (S&D), noting improvements and the country’s commitments, were rejected. During the last debate on the issue, the S&D group had already been accused of being complacent towards the then Maltese socialist government (see EUROPE 12709/3). Another motion for a resolution, more vague than the original one and put forward by Annalisa Tardino (ID, Italian), was rejected.
The European Parliament has already voted on six resolutions on the Rule of law in Malta and the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia since 2017.
Read the adopted motion for a resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/3pr (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)