Casa urges Commissioner-designate to get serious about the rule of law in Malta

As the European Parliament prepares to grill commissioners-designate next month, MEP David Casa met with Michael McGrath, the commissioner-designate on the rule of law, and pledged his support based on a commitment to get serious about the rule of law situation in Malta.

He urged McGrath to be ready to act, given the severity of the rule of law crisis in Malta, and to commit to concrete action to address the concerns of so many citizens in Malta and all over the EU.

He charged the Labour administration in Malta with having wasted time with “ineffective platitudes” such as the stagnant implementation of the recommendations of the inquiry on the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the failure to prosecute high-level corruption and the capture of state bodies such as the state broadcaster.

Casa and the commissioner-designate discussed the latest scandals and showed how various rackets demonstrate an unprecedented level of institutional capture to enrich a few off the backs of Maltese citizens.

Casa said the test of whether the rule of law exists in Malta is the end of the impunity granted to disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat and his alleged accomplices.

In comments following the meeting, Casa added that “the attacks this year on the judiciary, the media and civil society is a serious relapse that has squandered any goodwill the Maltese authorities have enjoyed. The situation must not be allowed to deteriorate further.”