Malta has not escaped some criticism from the EU in its annual rule of law report.
The keenly awaited report from the Commission covers all Member States and none escape some criticism over the issue.
These include the Maltese government which has found itself at odds with the EU at times in recent years.
The report says that in Malta the anti-corruption recommendations issued following the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have not been implemented yet.
The monitoring of the implementation of the National Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy encountered some delays, it adds.
Organisational and legislative measures were adopted in 2023 to improve the capacity of investigative and prosecution authorities, the EU notes.
But, while its resources increased, the Permanent Commission against Corruption did not achieve tangible results.
The report adds, “Integrity measures continue to apply to the public service (including police officers, judges, members of Parliament and high-ranking officers) while those for high-ranking officials were reviewed, and some concerns remain regarding the extent of the integrity measures for persons of trust.”
“Public authorities comply with audit recommendations.”
“New tools for whistleblowing are under preparation, while some concerns were raised as regards the effectiveness of the existing mechanism. While preventive measures exist, public procurement procedures show high risks of corruption. The investor citizenship scheme continues to raise concerns.”
Overall, concerning the recommendations in the 2023 Rule of Law Report, Malta has made some progress on addressing the need for involvement of the judiciary in the procedure for appointment of the Chief Justice, says the major report.
It adds that progress has been seen on strengthening efforts to improve the efficiency of justice, particularly to reduce the length of proceedings.
Malta is credited also with some progress on addressing challenges related to the length of investigations of high-level corruption cases.
But there has, says the report, been no progress on establishing a robust track record of final judgments.
The Maltese government is now urged to:
* Pursue the draft reform endorsed by the Government to involve the judiciary in the procedure for appointment of the Chief Justice.
- Further strengthen efforts to improve the efficiency of justice including by providing additional resources, particularly to reduce the length of proceedings and
- Continue efforts to address challenges related to the length of investigations of high-level corruption cases and step up efforts to establish a robust track record of final judgments.
- Strengthen the rules and mechanisms to enhance the independent governance and editorial independence of public service media taking into account European standards on public service media.
- Step up measures to establish a National Human Rights Institution taking into account the UN Paris Principles.
