With less than ten days to go, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said that the government is still aiming to follow the Council of Europe's resolution on setting up a public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Last June, the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly had adopted a resolution demanding that Malta open an independent public inquiry into the killing of Caruana Galizia. They gave Malta a three-month deadline, which expires in less than ten days - on 26 September.
Asked about whether the government will be appointing the inquiry, Muscat repeated previous statements where he had said that the government is engaging with the Council of Europe, even though they had strong reservations about the methods used by their rapporteur - Dutch MP Pieter Omzigt.
"We will follow this resolution because we have nothing to hide. We have to make sure, however, that by launching a public inquiry we would not be prejudicing any case. We have almost reached this balance now," Muscat said, before adding that an announcement will be made soon.
Opposition Leader Adrian Delia later took to Twitter to implore the government to stick to the deadline for the appointment on the inquiry "if it really wants to ensure justice".