European Court Auditor Leo Brincat said today that the controversy which had surrounded his appointment to the post had not negatively affected his work.

The former Environment Minister Leo Brincat had been appointed to the European Court of Auditors, after his nomination was approved by the EU Competitiveness Council in September 2016.

The European Parliament, through an overwhelming majority, had objected to his nomination. Their decision is believed to be primarily due to Brincat’s decision not to back a motion of no confidence in Minister without a portfolio Konrad Mizzi, due to the Panama Papers scandal.

Responding to a question during a press conference, as to whether this had an impact on his work, said that he began working from day one, and said that the best way to weigh whether there was any affect is through whether he was given important tasks or not. He said that he and his team was given “rapporteurship of three very important reports.

He said that he was the rapporteur of the EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments) part of the Juncker plan, regarding strategic investment funds that the Juncker Commission had created to stimulate investment in Europe. He said that he had to draft a report on EFSI one to see if it worked well or not.

He mentioned being in contact with MEPs as well as European Commissioners

He also said that he was the rapporteur over a landscape review. He said that this differs from a performance, as it is a new concept introduced by the ECA, which conducts a panoramic view on already published studies. “We had to see how effective the European Commission was in the implementation and monitoring of infringement procedures that it instituted.”

The third report, he said, regards Customs 2020

"The fact that my office was given these three posts of responsibility show that we are giving our maximum and that we are receiving feedback from all institutions we deal with.”  He mentioned that his office has held good meetings with the EU Ombudsman, and other EU offshoots like the Committee of Regions etc.

He also said that he cannot comment about political situations in the past as his current position does not allow him to do so.

Brincat, along with Auditor General Charles  Deguara, called a briefing with the press to explain that the ECA has been working on making their reports more accessible t the public, in terms of the type of language used as well as through report length.

They also announced that in May, Malta will host the Contact Committee meeting, which is composed of the Heads of EU country national Audit institutions as well as the ECA.