Electoral expenditure regulations, which came under the spotlight after candidates in the European Parliament elections admitted exceeding the legal limit, will be the focus of the Parliamentary Select Committee in the coming two months.
The parliamentary working group will meet to discuss the strengthening of Parliament, the electoral system and process, and party finances in February and March, Speaker Louis Galea told The Sunday Times.
A consultation process, including political parties, was held last November and December.
The process took place four months after Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Labour leader Joseph Muscat had written a joint letter to the Speaker, urging the Select Committee to discuss and revise regulations on electoral expenditure.
The move followed an investigation by The Sunday Times of campaign expenses during the last European Parliament elections, which showed that not all candidates had respected the legal limit of €18,635.
Unelected Nationalist Party candidates Edward Demicoli and Frank Portelli, as well as Labour Party candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici, had admitted they exceeded the limit by tens of thousands of euros. The two PN candidates even took an oath before a magistrate.
The elected candidates from the two main parties - John Attard Montalto, Louis Grech, Edward Scicluna, Simon Busuttil and David Casa - had declared their expenses to be within the legal limit. But they presented no receipts and had not taken the oath provided in the electoral form to accompany the declaration of expenses.
Even though some candidates admitted breaking the law, there has been no investigation of all candidates' expenditure by either the Electoral Commission or the police. Attorney General Silvio Camilleri had said last July that his "office will take such action as may fall within its competence as circumstances and the law dictate". To date, no action has been taken.
The situation in Malta contrasts with the authorities' approach to British MPs after revelations of abuse by The Daily Telegraph led to 21 politicians announcing they were stepping down.
A subsequent inquiry by Sir Thomas Legg made public last week criticised the "culture of deference" MPs created and ordered 350 politicians to repay over £1 million. In his report, Sir Thomas acc-used MPs of a collapse in their ethics.
Last Friday, it emerged that four UK MPs will face charges in court that carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.