Maltese MEP backs... then opts out of censure motion

Labour's head of delegation at the European Parliament, John Attard Montalto, was among 79 MEPs who last week signed a controversial motion of censure that seeks to question Commission President José Manuel Durao Barroso about accepting a gift of hospitality.

However, he has now decided to withdraw his support for the motion, his spokesman said. Dr Attard Montalto was the only Maltese MEP to sign the motion.

He was recently involved in another controversy over his failure to fully oppose a parliamentary resolution proposing to scrap opt-outs from the working time directive which limits the number of hours people can work in a week.

The motion was promoted by the Eurosceptic Independence and Democracy Group (ID). It was presented by the chairman of the ID Group, Nigel Farage, and is scheduled to be discussed in Brussels next week.

The motion was harshly criticised by the leaders of the mainstream political groups in the EP, including Socialist leader Martin Shultz.

In a statement following the presentation of the motion, the leaders condemned the motion and said that "as chairs of political groups accounting for 597 of the 732 members of the European Parliament, we express our opposition to the motion of censure tabled in Strasbourg. We consider this initiative to be unjustified and disproportionate and principally designed to seek publicity for its authors".

Sources close to the European Parliament told The Times that Dr Attard Montalto was one of only two Socialist group MEPs who joined the Eurosceptics' motion and that pressure from the Socialist group was mounting so they would withdraw their support.

Contacted by The Times, a spokesman for Dr Attard Montalto confirmed that he had signed the motion of censure. However, she said that following Mr Schultz's declaration he had decided to withdraw his name and that his office was informing the European Parliament about the decision.

The Times is informed that the other Socialist MEP, Anna Hedh, has also withdrawn her support.

Gawain Towler, head of media of the Independence and Democracy Group, told The Times his group still had the number of names necessary for the debate to go ahead.

Asked specifically about Dr Attard Montalto's reason for withdrawing, Mr Towler said that according to their information the Maltese MEP was still on the list.

According to the EP rules, if the number of signatories falls below 74 the censure debate may not take place. As the censure motion would need to secure two-thirds of the votes cast as well as an absolute majority of all 732 MEPs, it is most unlikely to succeed.

Mr Barroso said on Wednesday he would go to Parliament next week to face MEPs and take part in the debate.

The censure motion against him followed the revelation of a week-long holiday he and his family took on a boat belonging to Spiros Latsis, the Greek shipping and banking magnate, last summer. The news sparked off allegations of conflict of interest.

Mr Barroso's spokesman said the charges of improper influence were "unjustified and absurd".

Five British Conservatives who are affiliated to the EPP-ED group also signed the motion but the leader of the Conservative delegation, Timothy Kirkhope, has written asking them to remove their names.

Mr Kirkhope said the main issue was not so much the substance of the motion of censure itself but the people who are associated with it. They include Communists, anti-Semitics, members of Sinn Fein and the UK Independence Party, that is, no one from any of the mainstream political groups, he said.

Reacting to the latest statements by the mainstream group leaders, Mr Farage said they made their statement after they had failed to pressure enough MEPs into removing their names from the motion.

"If they think that this gives the unelected Barroso carte blanche to ignore the request of 77 members to explain his actions, it doesn't. If Mr Barroso fails to turn up, if he fails to explain how the Commission okayed a €10 million grant to his holiday host, if he fails to instigate a policy of full disclosure, then he will be shown to hold the position of elected members in contempt."