Warnings that Malta could have its EU voting rights suspended come from misinformation supplied to MEPs, European Affairs Minister Helena Dalli said yesterday.

Asked by the Times of Malta whether she was concerned that Article 7 – a procedure whereby the EU suspends certain rights for a Member State regarded as not respecting the Union’s rules – could be triggered against Malta, Dr Dalli said that MEPs see things one way, while the government may have a different view of the situation.

On Saturday, Times of Malta reported that Romanian MEP Monica Macovei, who was part of the delegation that came to Malta to investigate the state of the local rule of law, warned that Malta was moving closer to having Article 7 triggered against it.

“I’ve spoken to that particular MEP, and the questions she put to me showed that she is not informed about what she was saying and she made comments that were also biased,” the minister said, adding that she had got the impression the MEP was not aware of how things really were.

Asked whether she had attempted to clarify the claims she deemed to be inaccurate, Dr Dalli insisted that Ms Macovei did not seem willing to hear what she had to say.

Helena Dalli (left) has dismissed Monica Macovei's warnings.

“She wanted to tell me things, she said them, and then when I tried to clarify some points, she just listened but made no comments and insisted on repeating the same things,” Dr Dalli said.

In her comments, Ms Macovei expressed disappointment that the report drawn up by the MEP delegation had fallen on deaf ears, insisting that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should resign in light of the recent revelations by a consortium of journalists as part of the Daphne Project.

On this, the minister said that there were inquiries under way and she would therefore not comment on the reports. 

A second delegation of MEPs is expected to visit Malta in the coming months.