Nationalist MP Franco Debono this evening requested an urgent debate in Parliament on the resignation of John Dalli from the European Commission.
He said Mr Dalli was a Maltese and his decision affected Malta. He had been made to resign on the basis of a report by OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, without seeing the report and without being able to defend himself.
Dr Debono said he had not spoken to Mr Dalli for months, and this was his own initiative. But the whole world was speaking about the resignation and the issue also needed to be discussed in the Maltese parliament.
The House needed to discuss the point of view of Mr Dalli's rights, particularly since no resignation letter had been submitted. The Times had reported how an Irish MEP had expressed her concern and the Greens were calling for transparency.
Many abroad were discussing how matters had unfolded and it was only right that Malta's Parliament should too.
Since Mr Dalli was Maltese and was representing Malta, the House should discuss this issue. Half a truth was often worse than a lie and an EU spokesman himself had said that there was no evidence of any illegality by Mr Dalli, Dr Debono said.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this issue was worrying for the Maltese people and the country. But this was a delicate matter for everyone. He suggested that a discussion should be held at a more appropriate time.
Dr Gonzi pointed out that OLAF had submitted its report to the Attorney General who needed to reach his conclusions. He did not know what the report said, but the House should not be seen as influencing the process.
Dr Debono said he agreed with the prime minister's argument but it should be a concern that the prime minister did not know what was in the OLAF report. The way how matters were unfolding was humiliating Mr Dalli, a Maltese national. His rights as well as Malta's reputation needed to be safeguarded.
Anglu Farrugia, deputy leader of the opposition, said he agreed that the resignation should be debated once the Attorney General took his decision.