PBS trashed again in Court over unaccounted €1.6 million Eurovision costs

The public broadcaster, PBS, has been ordered by the Court of Appeal to publish details of some €1.6 million spent refurbishing an old studio for the 2024 edition of the national Eurovision Song Contest, marking its latest legal defeat over transparency.

In a ruling delivered this week, Judge Wenzu Mintoff rejected all arguments advanced by PBS against The Shift and the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, upholding a Freedom of Information request relating to the unaccounted expenditure.

PBS had sought to block disclosure since February 2024, pursuing multiple legal challenges to prevent the release of the information. The court’s decision brings an end to the broadcaster’s legal efforts, funded by taxpayers, to prevent publication of the data.

The FOI request sought a list of contracts issued by PBS in 2024, including the names of beneficiaries, the value of each procurement and whether contracts were awarded through direct orders.

The request followed allegations claiming that procurement decisions under former government-appointed chief executive Mark Sammut involved the purchase of expensive equipment from companies linked to acquaintances and figures close to the governing Labour Party.

PBS argued that it operated as a commercial entity and that the requested information was commercially sensitive. However, both the Information and Data Protection Commissioner and the Court of Appeal dismissed that claim, reaffirming that the state-owned broadcaster is accountable to the public given its reliance on public funds.

PBS receives approximately €6mn annually from the state.

The ruling is the latest in a series of defeats for PBS in cases relating to FOI requests.

In recent years, the broadcaster, represented by lawyer and Labour activist Mark Vassallo – who also serves as company secretary – has consistently challenged requests for information ranging from programme funding to employment contracts.

The state broadcaster has routinely refused to comply with decisions issued by the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, opting instead to appeal to the Court of Appeal. In each case brought to this final legal stage under FOI legislation, PBS has lost.

The total cost to taxpayers of the broadcaster’s legal challenges remains unknown.

The Shift was represented in the proceedings by lawyers Andrew Borg Cardona, Matthew Cutajar and Eve Borg Costanzi.