Be the first to comment!Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should resign now, say MEPs
 Email item
|  Print item
|
|
MEPs have said today that there is a “risk of investigations are being compromised while Joseph Muscat remains in office, with serious and persistent threats to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights.” The resolution with adopted with 581 votes to 26 and 83 abstentions.
They have also called for the termination of the “citizenship by investment” and “residence by investment” schemes.
In a statement from the European Parliament, MEPs said that they are concerned about the “credibility of investigations into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the lack of progress on related accusations.”
The text points to the “allegations of corruption and money laundering against the Maltese Prime Minister, and in particular his Chief of Staff and the former Minister for Tourism, other government members and private companies and individuals connected to them,” regretting that parallel investigations “have not advanced or have not even been launched.”
“Developments in Malta in recent years have led to serious and persistent threats to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights,” says the EP, highlighting its concerns over freedom of the media, the independence of the police and judiciary, the freedom of peaceful assembly and the separation of powers.
MEPs welcomed the recent comments by Commission Vice-President Jourová, stating that “Malta’s failure to enact judicial reforms could serve as a basis for triggering an Article 7 procedure.”
They reiterated the need to establish a permanent, independent EU-wide mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights to safeguard the EU’s values.
Parliament also asked for Malta’s investor citizenship and residence schemes to be abolished, as these, MEPs said, “effectively sell EU citizenship and pose a threat to anti-money laundering efforts, the fight against cross-border crime and the integrity of the Schengen area.”
Finally, the text welcomes the creation of an annual “European Daphne Caruana Galizia prize for outstanding investigative journalism.” The necessary arrangements to set this prize up should be finalised as soon as possible, the European Parliament said.
