Simon Busuttil’s appointment as a member of a panel overseeing the appointment of Judges and Advocates General on the European Union Court of Justice is no longer tenable, Maltese MEP Miriam Dalli has said.

Busuttil was nominated for the post by the European Parliament, a Labour Party statement said. Busuttil has come under fire after the publication of the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry which exonerated Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle from any connections with a company opened in Panama under the name Egrant. Opposition Leader Adrian Delia has also requested Busuttil to suspend himself from the PN parliamentary group, a call Busuttil rejected.

Former EPP MEP Simon Busuttil is the only panel member representing the European Parliament, the Labour Party statement said. The panel is tasked with giving an opinion on candidates’ suitability to perform the duties of judge and advocate general of the General Court.

In a letter addressed to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani Miriam Dalli argued that, following the conclusions of the Magisterial Inquiry into the Egrant allegations, it is amply clear that Simon Busuttil is no longer fit for this role.

“This is a role that requires a person that is capable of taking a serious informed decision. The conclusions of the Magisterial Inquiry clearly indicate that Simon Busuttil is not fit for this role. Picture him overseeing the Maltese government’s next nomination of a judge to sit on the European Court of Justice,” Miriam Dalli said, commenting on her decision.  

In a separate letter sent to all MEPs of the Civil Liberties Committee and the committee focusing on the Rule of Law in the EU, Dr Dalli insisted that MEPs must distinguish between allegations and fact, and support analysis based on facts through independent inquiries.

MEP Dalli brought the MEPs up to speed with the latest developments, as she outlined the main conclusions of the independent inquiry by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, which heard 477 witnesses. She brought to their attention the fact that the magisterial inquiry found that neither Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, nor his wife Michelle or any of their relatives could be linked to the Panamanian offshore company Egrant.

“The conclusions of the said inquiry were published and it results amply clear that these allegations were false, a mere fabrication and not substantiated by any evidence,” Dalli told the MEPs.

Asked to comment about the letter, Miriam Dalli said: “Malta’s name has been tarnished by people who believed allegations, which now have proven to be fabrications and mere lies. These lies have been repeated in the European Parliament and other European institutions by people who should have known better. This is completely unacceptable and I will make sure that I will stand for Malta and its citizens.”

She said that MEPs have been heavily influenced in their perception of Malta by those whose only interest was to harm Malta’s reputation, under the leadership of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

“Whilst others constantly push forward a narrative based on the twisting of facts, today we have given the European Parliament an analysis based on facts, through an independent inquiry in full respect of the law. If one truly has their country’s best interest at heart, then they should be on the side of the truth and not conjecture,” Dr Dalli concluded.

Attached with this Press Release kindly find a letter addressed to President Antonio Tajani and another letter addressed to the LIBE Committee members.

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Alfred Sant, Head of the Maltese S&D Delegation at the European Parliament, updated all MEPs  at the EU Parliament with the conclusions of the magisterial enquiry conducted by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja into allegations last year that Prime Miniser Joseph Muscat’s wife owned Egrant, an account linked to the Panama Papers.

The enquiry, Sant pointed out, convincingly proved that the allegations were unfounded and completely false. Originally made fifteen months ago by deceased journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the allegations had been consistently repeated in the EU Parliament by some MEPs as if they were the gospel truth despite the fact that the Maltese Prime Minister and his wife steadfastly denied the allegations.

There now remains no doubt whatsoever, Sant indicated, that the wife of Malta’s Prime Minister ever owned some secret Panama based company, Egrant or any other.

 

The magisterial enquiry launched to specifically investigate the matter, Sant highlighted, found absolutely no evidence of any kind remotely linking the Maltese Prime Minister, his wife or any of their families to Panama company Egrant Inc.