The EU was cooperating fully to see that Malta’s new European Commissioner would be appointed as soon as possible, and this was evidenced by the fact that the legislative process had been completed, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.
I hope the Government and the Opposition will be able to cooperate for Tonio Borg to be confirmed commissioner
Answering a question in Parliament by Alfred Sant (PL), Dr Gonzi said that after John Dalli’s resignation was announced, he had told European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that Malta was determined to ensure its place in the College of Commissioners would not be vacant for long.
He hoped the Government and the Opposition would be able to cooperate for Tonio Borg to be confirmed commissioner by the end of next month. He acknowledged the cooperation of Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat in the national interest.
Earlier, Dr Gonzi stressed that Mr Barroso never spoke to him about the EU anti-fraud office (OLAF) investigation involving Mr Dalli until the day of the latter’s resignation. He said Mr Barroso did not even raise the subject, directly or indirectly, when he was in Malta for the 5+5 meeting a few days before.
Neither was he ever contacted in any way by Rita Schembri, the Maltese member of the OLAF supervisory committee. He only got to know of the investigation when Cabinet Secretary Godwin Grima was informed.
Dr Gonzi said he was being very careful in what he said about the case while the police investigation was still under way, pointing out that it involved “three persons”.
The Cabinet Office last night issued a statement saying Ms Schembri, who also heads the EU’s Anti-Fraud Coordinating Services (AFCOS) in Malta, never interrogated persons called in by OLAF.
Last Saturday, Mr Dalli suggested Ms Schembri’s role on the supervisory committee had been compromised because, he said, she took part in the OLAF probe.
The Cabinet Office’s statement clarified the roles of the Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) within the Cabinet Office, of AFCOS, and of the Permanent Secretary Governance and Internal Audit, Ms Schembri.
It said the role of AFCOS in the investigation was solely to assist OLAF representatives as this was purely an OLAF investigation. This was not the first OLAF mission to Malta and the standard procedure was always scrupulously observed.
AFCOS Malta confirmed that two interviews were carried out in Malta with Maltese nationals on July 4 and 5 and September 5. AFCOS was also requested to send further information to OLAF. As such information was not in AFCOS’s domain, it liaised with other Maltese institutions also entrusted with the role of combating fraud and corruption, in particular the police.
The role of AFCOS was to act as an observer to ensure that the procedural guarantees of the Maltese witnesses and persons concerned were being fully safeguarded throughout the interview as per standing procedure, the statement said.
Ms Schembri informed Mr Grima, as ex officio chairman of the Internal Audit and Investigations Board, about OLAF’s presence in Malta indicating only that they were carrying out an investigation and the general area of such investigation.
At no stage did Ms Schembri communicate with the Prime Minister, the statement added.
Her position in the Supervisory Committee was an elected appointment. Last January, the present five supervisory committee members were chosen from a list of European candidates by the three EU institutions: the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.
The statement said Ms Schembri had informed all committee members on October 18 that she would have to be excused whenever this particular item on the agenda was to be discussed, as directed by the Rules of Procedure of the Committee.
She would also continue to excuse herself whenever an OLAF case involving a Maltese citizen was discussed within the Committee.