In a debate that ensued following a ministerial statement in Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Abela said he has ruled out introducing a specific criminal offence for mafia association, saying such a measure would wrongly suggest that Malta is a mafia state.

Abela said he would not support the creation of such an offence for as long as he remains prime minister.

The Nationalist Party is expected to table an omnibus bill aimed at putting a number of the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry recommendations into effect. One of those recommendations was the creation of a new offence targeting mafia-style association. The proposal, along with several other recommendations, has yet to be implemented.

Abela rejected the proposal outright, telling parliament that Malta should not adopt legislation that, in his view, would imply the country was a mafia state.

The exchange then shifted to other recommendations contained in the inquiry's report. Abela said the government was pursuing a comprehensive reform of the journalism sector, but challenged Opposition Leader Alex Borg to identify specific proposals made by the inquiry.

Borg responded by highlighting unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), which would give authorities additional powers to investigate assets whose origins cannot be satisfactorily explained.

The Opposition leader accused Abela of being uncomfortable with the introduction of UWOs and questioned why the government continued to oppose them.

Abela defended the existing work of the Tax Compliance Unit and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, arguing that their current powers and investigations were sufficient and that additional provisions were unnecessary.