Joe Borg rules out return to politics

Former Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner Joe Borg has all but ruled out a return to local politics.

Dr Borg, 58, returned from Brussels three months ago after serving as Malta's first EU Commissioner.

Asked whether he would consider returning to the political scene, the former commissioner said: "Definitely not".

Dr Borg was instrumental during Malta's negotiations in the run-up to EU membership and was elected from two districts at the 2003 general election.

The former commissioner responsible for maritime affairs and fisheries does not appear to be in a hurry to start working again, telling The Sunday Times he is not doing anything on a professional level.

"For the time being I am just enjoying doing nothing. When the time comes, I will return to lecture at the University and maybe I will do some consultancy work. However, for the time being I want to take some time off," Dr Borg said.

Despite being one of the most respected commissioners in Jose Manuel Barroso's first Commission, Dr Borg was not re-appointed for a second term despite showing interest in spending another five years in Brussels.

In an interview with The Sunday Times last December, Dr Borg had expressed his disappointment and accused the Prime Minister of keeping him in the dark over his future in Brussels.

While Dr Borg is enjoying his break, four of his former colleagues - Günter Verheugen, Maglenah Kuneva, Benita Ferroro-Waldner and Charlie McCreevy - are in the headlines for taking on jobs or appointments with a potential conflict of interest.

Mr Verheugen, who was Enlargement Commissioner while Malta was negotiating with the EU, has joined the Royal Bank of Scotland while his Irish colleague Mr McCreevy was recently appointed to a position at Irish airline Ryanair.

Ms Ferrero-Waldner was reportedly appointed to the supervisory board of German re-insurance company Munich Re, while Ms Kuneva was approved as a management board member at BNP Paribas, a French bank. She is also acting as an adviser to the current Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas.

Transparency International, the anti-corruption lobby group, has harshly criticised these appointments and called on the Commission to investigate any possible conflicts of interest.

The group warned there is a serious risk of conflict of interest when former European Commissioners assume lucrative positions in the private sector, and requested a review of the current code of conduct, which states that former European Commissioners may not assume roles related to their previous portfolios for a period of at least one year.

According to the group, the changes in the commissioners' code of conduct should include the introduction of a cooling-off period for at least two years to mitigate the risk of a potential conflict of interest.

Former commissioners receive up to 60 per cent of their former salary for three years as a transitional and resettlement allowance.