Embattled Maltese Minister Konrad Mizzi may soon be asked to travel to Brussels to respond to claims made against him in the Panama Papers, Times of Malta has learnt.

Politicians, multinational companies and celebrities involved in the scandal will have to face MEPs following a decision by the leaders of the European Parliament to establish a special inquiry committee on the issue.

The Conference of Presidents of the EP, which includes the leaders of all the political groups together with the president of the European institution, yesterday agreed on the setting up of an inquiry committee to investigate the Panama Papers revelations. Malta’s Konrad Mizzi is the only minister of an EU member state mentioned in the leaks.

The exact mandate of the committee will be determined next month, when the full house of MEPs will take a vote

Moreover, the documents revealed so far give detailed information on offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries.

The exact mandate of the committee will be determined next month, when the full house of MEPs will take a vote on the official setting up of the committee. The MEPs who will sit on the committee will then be selected.

According to the EP rules, special committees can be set up to investigate alleged contravention of EU laws or alleged maladministration in the application of EU law which would appear to be an act of an institution of the EU or a public administrative body of an EU member state.

The committee, which has to submit a report not later than a year after its setting up, will have the power to hold hearings and to call those mentioned in the Panama Papers to testify.

At the end of the exercise, the EP is expected to come out with recommendations – particularly on the tightening of EU laws against tax evasion.