The Nationalist Pary said this afternoon that a 'hysterical' statement issued by the Labour Party alleging that the PN leader used EP contacts to question the government's power station plans was seriously worrying and undermined the Labour Party's credentials.

"It is the right of every EU MEP to raise questions on the actions of Member States, their relationships with the EU and the body of directives and regulations," the PN said.

"The Opposition has proven to be very responsible throughout the process, not adopting the Labour-in-Opposition tactics of past legislatures that used to leave no stone unturned to hinder and disturb national scale projects like BWSC, the Sant  Antnin waste treatment plant and other important initiatives, at every stage of the process."

It said it had raised its questions transparently in the Maltese Parliament, even though the Government had not been forthcoming in its response, choosing instead to go round in circles when answering Parliamentary questions.

"The Government seems to be ignoring that there is a world outside Malta that includes international bidders who have contacts with EU MEPs and with whom they might have spoken and raised responsible questions which the Government has in turn failed to answer," the PN said.

"The Government needs to respect democracy both at a local and a EU level, and needs to do away with its agenda of attempting to silence anyone who questions it by labelling them as xewwiexa (inciters) – to use Joseph Muscat’s words, and as acting against the national interest."

The PN insisted that it is in the national interest to ensure that any projects handled by this Government is compliant with all EU rules which are there to protect citizen interests – from a high level of transparency to health and safety and all environmental concerns.

See PL statement at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130531/local/pl-accuses-pn-leader.472021