The European Parliament adopted by 466 votes to 49 with 167 abstentions, a resolution on the rule of law in Malta.
The resolution was tabled by the EPP, ECR, ALDE, GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA groups.
Parliament regretted that developments in Malta in recent years have raised serious concerns about the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, especially with regard to media freedom and the independence of the police and the judiciary. It called on the Commission to establish a dialogue with the Maltese Government regarding the functioning of the rule of law in Malta and to ensure respect for European values.
It strongly condemned the assassination on 16 October 2017 of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese investigative journalist and blogger specialising in corruption issues. It requested that Europol participate in the investigation and asked the Maltese authorities to ensure that the personal safety of journalists and whistleblowers is protected.
Members also specifically regretted the fact that there has been no police investigation to date in Malta into the revelations regarding the Panama Papers and on several serious allegations of corruption and non-compliance with banking supervision and anti-money laundering obligations, posed a threat to the rule of law in that Member State.
In this regard, the resolution indicated that the delegation to Malta in February 2017 organised by the European Parliament as part of its investigation into the Panama Papers found an extremely low number of convictions and confiscations related to money laundering in Malta in relation to the average number of reports sent to the police by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).
Members therefore asked the Commission to verify whether Malta is in compliance with the third Anti-Money Laundering Directive and the Capital Requirements Directive. They called on Malta and all the other Member States to ensure that the fight against tax evasion is given priority and that all necessary resources are dedicated to this cause.
Parliament also recalled its concern about Citizenship by Investment Schemes in general, including in Malta. It called on the Commission to monitor such citizenship programmes in Member States.