Coordinated Freedom of Information refusals prompt alert by European watchdog

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has formally recorded Prime Minister Robert Abela’s directive to block access to information about government consultants and advisors as a threat to press freedom in Malta.

The incident reported by The Shift on 16 May, has been categorised by the MFRR as involving interference in journalistic activity, obstruction of access to information, and a violation of fundamental transparency norms.

The alert was added to the organisation’s database of media threats across Europe and flagged to partner institutions including the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism.

The blackout order, issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, instructed all ministers and parliamentary secretaries not to provide any information—either to Parliament or to the press—about individuals hired on a “position of trust” basis.

The Shift filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests with every ministry, requesting the contracts and identities of current consultants and advisors. Every ministry refused to provide the data, issuing nearly identical responses claiming that the request was “too vague”—a reply clearly coordinated at a national level.

A national pattern of secrecy

The MFRR alert confirms what The Shift has previously documented: a growing pattern of institutional secrecy and political interference in Malta’s public information framework.

By categorising the incident as a press freedom violation, the watchdog adds international weight to concerns over the use—and abuse—of the “position of trust” system to reward political loyalty behind closed doors.

This comes just weeks after Prime Minister Abela also ceased the long-standing practice of publishing ministers’ asset declarations, a decision condemned by the Standards Commissioner and transparency advocates.

The government’s blanket refusal of FOI requests violates both the spirit and the letter of Malta’s Freedom of Information Act, suggesting a centralised attempt to neutralise the legal tool used by journalists to access public data.

The Shift is preparing to challenge the FOI refusals, a process that will take years, as the news portal continues to battle a trend that amounts to a blackout of information. Meanwhile, no explanation has been given by the Office of the Prime Minister as to why information that was previously public is now being withheld.

Press freedom groups, including the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders, have also raised red flags in recent years about Malta’s backsliding on transparency.

Malta has fallen in global corruption and press freedom rankings since 2017, when investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in a car bomb. Despite pledges of reform, meaningful protections for journalists remain weak, and attempts to obstruct access to information are increasingly frequent.