As long as PL MP Rosianne Cutajar remains in her position, Malta's reputation will continue to be damaged, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.

Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar has been found to be in breach of ethics by the Standards Commissioner over a controversial Mdina property transaction she was involved in together with Yorgen Fenech. It is alleged that Cutajar pocketed thousands in brokerage fees and also received cash from the 17 Black owner and Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind suspect.

It was also revealed that the government MPs sitting on Parliament's ethics committee will take the position that the Standard Czar's report on Cutajar should be published "immediately."  In a post on Facebook published by Cutajar, she said that she will remain a Member of Parliament, despite the unfavourable parliamentary standards investigation. 

In a telephone interview on NET FM on Sunday, Grech said that "at this stage, there is no way out for Cutajar, other than to step aside. If this is not done, PM Abela needs to be the one to tell Cutajar to step aside if he wants what is good for our country. He should also publish the Commissioner's report."

Grech said that it is evident how the labour government works. "In recent years, the country has experienced many scandals which have tarnished Malta's reputation."

Speaking about the meeting that took place on Wednesday 30 June between the Nationalist party and the Malta Council for Econimic and Social Development (MCESD), Grech said that it was the party's political responsibility to request such a formal meeting.

Grech described the meeting as a successful one, as the Nationalist party was welcomed by the MCESD to voice what the social partners had to say.

"We were clearly told that now, more than ever, it is of the utmost importance to have a real consultation on the situation in the country, the government is not consulting with the people concerned. The government has reached an extraordinary level of arrogance as it believes that it can move forward without anyone's help," Grech said.

He added that the MCESD also noted that the government was wrong in putting together an economic recovery and resilience plan for Malta without any consultation.

The PN felt that it needs to do its part by listening to the opinions and views of fora such as the MCESD, as well as other stakeholders in order to work together and identify the best way out of Malta's greylisting as fast as possible, Grech said.

He remarked that this is not the time to dwell on why Malta ended up in this situation but to work together in order to put the country back on the FATF white list.

"Due to the labour party's failure, as it greviously tainted Malta's reputation, the PN believes that no one person has the solution for everything," Grech said.

Speaking about the econimic recovery and resilience plan which entails a vision on how the government plans to spend the €320 million in EU grants, Grech slamed the government for drawing up the financial plans for the package on its own, saying that this could have been carried out in a much better way.

"Although we continously offer our input and opinion, it is up to the government to listen and consult. However, we are now used to a government that believes it does not need anyone as it tries to ridicule the proposals put forth by the PN. Despite this, after a few months, the government would then decide to implement the PN proposals anyway. One example is that of providing mediciation for In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) free of charge, a proposal which was suggested by the PN months ago," Grech said.

He remarked that Malta's recovery plan is not ambitious enough and it should include a number of measures aimed specifically at Gozo, thus it should be re-drafted following wide consultation.