The Panama Papers inquiry conducted by the European Parliament would put Malta’s presidency of the EU Council under a dark cloud, Roberta Metsola told the Times of Malta.
Dr Metsola was yesterday named a member of the inquiry committee together with fellow Nationalist MEP David Casa. Labour MEP Alfred Sant will serve as substitute member.
Dr Metsola said the European Parliament’s investigation would mean that Malta would likely be forced to go through the process of having Minister without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi appearing before the inquiry committee.
“The inquiry will be extensive. It will coincide with Malta’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, putting the golden opportunity our country will have of being in the driving seat of the EU agenda under a dark cloud.
“No one will be taking any pleasure in this. It puts the entire country in a bad light. Konrad Mizzi could have avoided it by resigning. Joseph Muscat could have avoided it by sacking him when he refused. They chose this road at the expense of Malta’s reputation,” Dr Metsola said.
No one will be taking any pleasure in this. It puts the entire country in a bad light. Konrad Mizzi could have avoided it by resigning
Mr Casa said the committee would need to look into why an EU minister who set up a “classic money laundering structure” after taking office remained in office.
“We must look into the rules on politically exposed persons and recommend they are strengthened if need be. As representatives of EU citizens, the fight against corruption and money laundering must take centre-stage in the committee’s priorities,” he added.
Both MEPs said Dr Mizzi’s actions could have wider implications for Malta.
Mr Casa emphasised the need to show that Malta’s financial services industry must not be questioned because of what Dr Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, decided to do.
“The longer they retain their posts the harder a job this will be,” Mr Casa said.
Dr Metsola warned that the inquiry had left the door open for larger economies to continue to push for EU-wide taxation harmonisation in the fight against tax evasion.
“Our challenge is to ensure that we come down hard on corruption, tax evasion and aggressive, abusive tax avoidance without using this as a disguise for tax harmonisation.
“It is clear that our citizens expect more to be done to tackle those who abuse to the detriment of others and we will deliver without impinging on Malta’s sovereignty in taxation matters,” she said.
As a substitute member, Dr Sant will not be able to vote but could still participate in the inquiry. Dr Sant told this newspaper that issues vital to Malta’s financial services industry would undoubtedly be raised.
“It is crucial that we know how these issues are developing and to be able to voice a reasonable case against solutions that go against our national interest, such as the harmonisation of tax systems that will be consistently proposed.
“This should be done while making it clear that we are in favour of transparency in taxation matters and stand against all forms of tax evasion,” Dr Sant noted.