Minister for European Affairs Louis Grech assured Parliament yesterday that no passport would be issued in secrecy before the legal text ensured the names of recipients would become public.
The minister said this in reaction to Opposition warnings and criticism levelled over the weekend and during yesterday’s sitting discussing the financial estimates of his ministry.
On another matter, he said rules would change so that ministers would not sit on the Public Accounts Committee when it discussed subjects under their responsibility.
The Committee on MPs’ Standards, Ethics and Behaviour had been set up with unanimous approval. With the chairmanship of the Speaker and both parties’good faith, Parliament would be more accountable, he said.
The Auditor General would be given more investigative powers and resources. Mr Grech noted that in the past, conclusions by the Auditor General were ignored.
He said that the 2017 EU Presidency would be a challenge for all the country.
Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg said the Maltese government was coordinating with the Netherlands and Slovakia, its 2017 EU Presidency counterparts, to have a coherent plan. The government also consulted the Irish government, which had hosted an excellent presidency. Earlier, Dr Borg said that during the last legislature, ministers were more interested in spending another year in government rather than investing in beneficial projects.
The Auditor General will be given more investigative powers and resources
On the other hand, the Labour government had already committed €3.5 million in its first eight months to the Master It scheme for students to continue their studies. It also allocated €21 million for 8,000 families to be able to install PVC panels. While the PN argued that the government had forgotten Gozo, the Government committed 10 per cent of structural funds to Gozo.
The previous PN government had only committed 6.8 per cent up to March 2013.
The government had also committed €3.6 million for the Safi Aviation Park and €4.4 million for the digital hub – a project that would create around 60 jobs.
It also committed €11 million to the Jeremie scheme.
Dr Borg said that €5 million that were originally allocated to Malta Enterprise would instead be allocated to complete the second-phase building of the Junior College in Victoria. Part of the sum would also be granted to improve sport facilities in St Ignatius College, Tal-Ħandaq.
Labour MP Chris Fearne, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for European and Foreign Affairs, said Malta fully agreed with the principle of a having European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to fight fraud and corruption that meant loss in taxation revenue.
However, the EU wanted the EPPO to have authority over the Attorney General. The House was unanimous that this would never be allowed. There was no power above the AG.
Following similar sentiments from other countries, the EU had decided to review its position on the EPPO. This was a clear example of European democracy and a way to cut the democratic deficit.
Earlier, shadow minister for European Affairs Marthese Portelli pointed out that during Friday’s TV programme, the manager of Henley & Partners, Daniela Bugeja, had admitted that there was still no framework in place for due diligence and that they had passed on the names of several possible companies to the government.
Yet, the government was still trying to convince people that the company doing due diligence would be independent.
Other speakers on behalf of the Opposition were Antoine Borg, Mario de Marco and David Agius while Carmelo Abela spoke for the government.