Labour deputy leader Toni Abela will be Malta’s nominee for the European Court of Auditors, the government said yesterday.

The 59-year-old lawyer was nominated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to replace Louis Galea when his term expires in the coming months.

Dr Abela’s nomination will have to be confirmed by the European Council after consultation with the European Parliament.

The announcement yesterday put paid to speculation rife in the past few weeks that Dr Muscat would nominate a member of Cabinet and use the occasion to reshuffle his ministers.

However, Dr Abela’s appointment will open up a vacancy for the post of Labour deputy leader party affairs. This would represent the biggest change in the party structures since the resignation of former deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia and his replacement with Louis Grech in December 2012.

When contacted yesterday Dr Abela said the party would discuss his resignation at a meeting of the executive this week. “The procedure to be adopted for my replacement will be debated then,” he said.

Asked about his new role, Dr Abela said he would serve to the best of his ability.

The procedure to be adopted for my replacement will be debated this week

The lawyer said he accepted the Prime Minister’s offer after consulting his family since it would mean transferring completely to Luxembourg for the next six years.

The European Court of Auditors is the EU’s financial watchdog and members serve six-year terms. Dr Abela will be Malta’s third nominee.

Central Bank of Malta governor Josef Bonnici was the first to serve on the court of auditors after Malta joined the EU in 2004.

Dr Abela was elected deputy leader in 2008 but the effervescent lawyer has had a love-hate relationship with the Labour Party.

In 1989 he was expelled from Labour along with Wenzu Mintoff, now serving as a judge, after standing up to corruption and violence in the party.

He co-founded a new political party, Alternattiva Demokratika, and also represented the party as vice mayor of Ħamrun in the early 1990s.

After 1998, Dr Abela returned back to the Labour Party and campaigned against Malta’s entry into the EU.

He has been practising law for 33 years, is married to Marisa and they have three children.

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