On the occasion of the budget vote for the ministry, seeing as no mention of it was made in the Budget speech, Partit Demokratiku issued a statement to make the following questions to the minister of Foreign Affairs:

1. What diplomatic efforts are being made to mitigate the deterioration of Malta’s status as a domain of good repute taking into consideration the ongoing investigations, potential punitive measures and loss of sovereign control in our financial sector by the Council of Europe, European Central Bank and European Parliament?

2. Is the Ministry working in close conjunction with other Ministries such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Home Affairs to co-operate with countries such as Spain and Italy following recent revelations regarding activities of organised crime, money laundering and tuna smuggling?

3. What proportion of our current Ambassadors and Chargè d’Affaires in our diplomatic missions abroad hold a qualification in diplomatic studies and what proportion were political appointees?

4. How often are the same people given further training and instruction to keep them up to date with the fast-changing relationship Malta has with the outside world?

5. What measures have been undertaken to tighten the scrutiny and issuing of Schengen visas issued in Libya?

6. With Brexit looming, has the Ministry taken contingency measures for any issues Maltese citizens living and working in the UK may face if a hard Brexit occurs?

7. What is Malta’s current stand on the situation regarding Saudi Arabia following the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Instanbul?

Malta needs to ensure that its foreign policy covers all aspects of Maltese interests including fiscal policy, through multilateral and bilateral engagement. To be effective, and to ensure Malta's reputation is safeguarded, Malta needs an apolitical diplomatic service composed of professionals which have gained knowledge and experience in different sectors globally. In this regard, Malta's diplomatic core should be composed MAINLY of career diplomats with political appointees being kept to the barest minimum, if any are necessary.