Dutch MEP Sophie in ’t Veld states Malta’s political scandal is a rule-of-law emergency for all the EU
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Sophie in ’t Veld, a Dutch MEP from the Democraten 66 party, who was head of the European Parliament’s ad hoc mission to Malta earlier this month, wrote an opinion piece in Politico that the current political scandal in Malta is Europe’s rule-of-law emergency and that the Eu must take urgent action
She states Maltese scandal is another reminder that the EU must stand up for its values because this is a crisis for all the European Union and a crisis about the rule of law.
The Dutch MEP states that what is going on in Malta is a big test case. “The situation there is beyond alarming. Corruption has pervaded many sectors of society and politics. Money laundering, the illegal trade in oil, the sale of EU citizenship to dodgy billionaires — all of these have become huge industries in the Mediterranean island. And two years ago, Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist seeking to expose corruption in the country, was brutally silenced by a car bomb” she wrote.
The situation there is beyond alarming. Corruption has pervaded many sectors of society and politics. Money laundering, the illegal trade in oil, the sale of EU citizenship to dodgy billionaires — all of these have become huge industries in the Mediterranean island. And two years ago, Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist seeking to expose corruption in the country, was brutally silenced by a car bomb
In ’t Veld adds that “Like climate change, it is an invisible, creeping crisis, slowly eroding the very foundations of our societies. And very much like with climate change, our response has been sluggish and inadequate, even as we slowly destroy the values on which our safety, freedom and prosperity depend. When it comes to the rule of law, Europe has an emergency on its hands.”
She states that in the case of Malta, it also means starting a dialogue about the rule of law with Maltese authorities, which might, in a next phase, lead to the triggering of an Article 7 procedure. The current tepid approach is not “political” — it is pernicious to everything the EU stands for.
The Dutch MEP adds that “the defence of our values does not require reticence, but determination. We need to make sure Malta is where we draw the line: This week’s European Council must put the safeguarding of the rule of law in Malta squarely on its agenda by addressing it at the highest level and asking tough questions of Muscat.”
