Asked by The Malta Independent on Sunday whether his position as consultant with the programme conflicted with his decision to contest the European Parliament (EP) elections for the Nationalist Party (PN), Dr Busuttil said: “I withdrew completely from the programme and informed the producers accordingly before my candidature was officially announced.”

“As soon as my candidature was announced, I informed PBS chief executive Andrew Psaila and the chief executive of the Broadcasting Authority, Dr Kevin Aquilina, that I had pulled out from the programme,” the former MIC head added.

This was confirmed by PBS journalist Ivan Camilleri, one of the two producers of L-Ewropej together with The Times journalist Jesmond Bonello.

“Dr Simon Busuttil is no longer associated with L-Ewropej. In fact he submitted his resignation before his official announcement as an EP candidate. This can be confirmed with PBS’ CEO Andrew Psaila and can also be noted from the programme's credits”, Mr Camilleri told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

When contacted by this paper, Mr Psaila said that Dr Busuttil had withdrawn his participation in L-Ewropej soon after he announced his candidature for the forthcoming EP elections.

Dr Busuttil’s decision to contest the EP elections on the PN ticket had raised a potential conflict of interest.

Speaking to our sister paper The Malta Independent Daily on 26 September last year, the former MIC head had described his role in the programme: “I will not be featured in the programme; I am just helping as a consultant on the EU content with ideas and scripting where necessary.”

The 39-episode programme, which started in the first week of October last year, will run till the end of June. The EP elections, which Dr Busuttil is contesting, will be held on 12 June.

When the programme was originally launched, Dr Busuttil had said he had never considered contesting the EP elections.

“The profile of my previous post put me in the political limelight whether I liked it or not – I gained notoriety without joining politics. I suppose it would get even worse if I did join. I would like to think that there is a life without politics,” he had told The Malta Independent Daily in his 26 September interview.

It is now being claimed that Dr Busuttil being a candidate for the EP elections, there was the possibility that his bid might be treated more favourably in the programme.

Asked to comment on these claims, Dr Busuttil told The Malta Independent on Sunday: “If anything, my involvement in the programme as consultant – until my above-mentioned resignation – may well be a disadvantage for my candidature rather than an advantage.”

“As a matter of fact, since the programme started being broadcast seven months ago, I have only appeared in it once for a three-minute interview and only because the person who was initially invited for an interview dropped out at the last minute. I was simply filling in for someone else,” Dr Busuttil said.

Mr Camilleri told The Malta Independent on Sunday that all EP candidates will be treated equally on L-Ewropej.

On his part, Mr Psaila said: “Dr Busuttil is an EP election candidate like all the other candidates and hence I do not see why PBS should treat him differently.”

“I can assure you that PBS is very much aware of its obligations in this regard and we have no intention to deviate from our duties in our coverage of matters related to the EP elections”, the PBS CEO told this paper.

Dr Busuttil’s candidature on the PN ticket for the EP elections was announced on 3 April during a press conference by party leader Lawrence Gonzi and European People’s Party-European Democrats president Hans-Gert Poettering.

There are other seven candidates contesting the EP elections for the PN: WSC chairman Michael Falzon, former “Yes to Malta in Europe” movement chairperson Joanna Drake, former “Yes to Malta in Europe” activist David Casa, philosophy professor at the University of Malta Joe Friggieri, Roberta Tedesco Triccas, former local councillor Ian Spiteri Bailey and former Gozitan diplomat Anton Tabone, son of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.