“It is extremely regrettable that the Council did not respect Parliament’s vote in the case of Leo Brincat, Malta’s nominee to the European Court of Auditors. The European Parliament rejected his nomination last plenary session by 381 votes against, 229 in favour and 58 abstentions. This result means that an absolute majority of the 751 MEPs did not feel Brincat to be the right person for the job”, said Petri Sarvamaa MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Budgetary Control Committee of the European Parliament, following the approval of the nomination by the permanent representatives of EU Member States, COREPER.

The nomination of a member to the ECA falls under the Consultation Procedure, a special legislative procedure that requires the Council to take into account the European Parliament's opinion. “The European Parliament, as the only democratically-elected Institution, sent a strong signal to the Council. By ignoring it, the Council is ignoring the voice of the EU citizens”, explained the Finnish MEP.

Mr Brincat's nomination was rejected by the European Parliament but it had also been revealed by The Malta INdependent tha the had made it through the first round (just barely) after PL MEP Alfred Sant found himself in the committee for a lack of members and substitutes. The former environment minister barely scraped through that vote - 11 voted in favour, 9 voted against and one member abstained.

Despite the EP's rejection, Mr Brincat said he would persist with his nomination, arguing that his competencies and integrity had "never been questioned."

It is now likely that EU leaders will go ahead with his nomination in the Council of Ministers of the European Union on September 29.