A resolution approved today by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee pushes for action that should be taken on the investigations taking place into the murder of two journalists, primarily that the masterminds of the murders should be identified and brought to justice as quickly as possible, the EPP said in a statement.
The assassinations of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak in Malta and Slovakia respectively have raised alarm bells that when it comes to the rule of law, corruption and the protection of journalists, all is not well in either Malta or Slovakia, the EPP said.
“The resolution calls on the Maltese authorities to set up an independent public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, to publish the full version of the Magistrate Aaron Bugeja Inquiry report, to stop selling passports with no genuine link to Malta, to investigate corruption and the link between the 17 Black company and Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, as well as to take concrete action against the orchestrated hate campaign against the memory and family of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” the statement read.
The inquiry led by Magistrate Bugeja dealt with allegations that a company opened in Panama, named Egrant, belonged to the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The inquiry found no evidence to sustain the allegation.
“Changes need to be made and now is the time to put the many words that members of Governments from both countries have made, into concrete actions. The citizens of both countries should have their minds put at rest that their authorities are truly acting in their interest,” the EPP said.
PN MEP Roberta Metsola MEP, EPP Group spokeswoman in the committee and a member of the working group which drafted the resolution, said: “There are a number of recurring issues in both member states which require urgent action. A year after both assassinations, the masterminds are still at large, while the alleged criminal activities being investigated by both journalists before being murdered seem to have been kept on the shelf.”
Metsola continued: “We want the institutions in Malta to work and do their duty to protect the interests of all the Maltese people. We make a distinction between the Maltese authorities and the Maltese people and nation. We urge the Maltese Government to put its weight behind this Resolution and implement its call to actions immediately.”
The resolution was drafted after visits by a cross-party group of MEPs to both Malta and Slovakia last September.
Sophia in ’t Veld, the rapporteur of the Working Group, firmly condemned hate speech and harassment levelled at the Caruana Galizia family while the report was beinf debated earlier this month. The draft resolution, she said, also urged the government to drop the libel suits against the Caruana Galizia family, as "they have enough grief and it leads to nothing."