Malta’s House of Representatives is finally represented at the European Parliament through the appointment of a full-time permanent representative, almost eight years after the island joined the EU.
Lack of financial resources – main reason for delay
Malta’s Parliament has sent one its functionaries to act as its main liaison officer with the European chamber, joining the rest of the 26 member states.
Malta was the only member state with an unrepresented Parliament, despite being offered free office space and facilities at the EP in Brussels. This lack of representation was criticised by MEPs, local MPs and even by the former EP representative in Malta.
Eleonor Scerri, a research analyst at the Maltese Parliament, was sent to Brussels on a full-time basis to act as the Parliament’s representative to the EP and the EU institutions, according to a spokesman for the Speaker’s office.
This decision was taken after a memorandum drawn up by Speaker Michael Frendo was approved by the House Business Committee last year.
Although both the present Speaker and his predecessor Louis Galea were in favour of appointing a full-time representative in Brussels, they had cited a “lack of financial resources” as the main reason for leaving the Maltese office empty for such a long time.
However, it appears that, following pressure from Dr Frendo, fresh funds were allocated to Parliament to be able to join the other member states’ parliaments in Brussels. Some of the member states, including Italy and France, have up to four full-time employees working at their representative offices in Brussels, separately acting for the lower and upper national chambers.
Since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, the powers of national parliaments have been boosted substantially. MPs now have the right to send reasoned opinions on legislative proposals discussed at the EP and are increasingly being invited to give their opinions on different proposals during frequent inter-parliamentary meetings in Brussels with MEPs.
During his visit to Malta last year, former EP President Jerzy Buzek had said it was “opportune” for the Maltese Parliament to appoint a permanent representative to the EP.