Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shied away from divulging whether he would reconsider the removal of no portfolio minister Konrad Mizzi when asked by The Malta Independent whether this should be the case since the Panama Papers issue has not subsided, practically a year after the revelations were made.

His comments were made during a press conference following his address at the European Parliament where he spoke in greater detail of Malta’s programme for the January-June Council Presidency. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and the Prime Minister of Malta all addressed the press conference.

The Prime Minister’s full speech was reported live by this newsroom and can be found here.

He quipped that the issue will definitely continue to dominate local media, adding that he wanted to remind the public that Dr Mizzi had his health portfolio stripped of him and the energy portfolio was placed within the Office of the Prime Minister, adding that “he (Minister Konrad Mizzi) is under my direct supervision.”

The Malta Independent also asked the newly elected European Parliament President Antonio Tajani about comments he made on Twitter regarding the Panama Papers scandal last year, where he asked “what’s going on with Malta?”

At the time he was an MEP and a member of the European People’s Party, the European Party aligned with Malta’s opposing party, the Nationalist Party. In view of this, he said:

“My position has changed, before I was a member of the EPP. Now I am independent and free, and my position is the position of the European Parliament.”

Dr Muscat also responded to questions about Brexit, where he said that he viewed UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s statements as words of clarity and not a sign of hostile negotiations.

He repeated much of what was said on migration, reiterating the need to act now before drastic actions will have to be taken later.