EP mission to Malta treated as Panama Papers follow-up

The European Parliament fact-finding mission on the rule of law in Malta is being treated as a continuation of the investigation carried out last February on Malta’s connections to the Panama Papers, according to EP sources who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta ahead of Thursday’s visit. MEPs will be travelling to Malta in the wake of last month’s brutal killing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. “This mission is linked to the Panama Papers probe for the simple reason that Ms Caruana Galizia had written extensively on these revelations and her killing is a very sad development,” sources close to the delegation said. The development followed the recent debate on the situation in Malta, which was held during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. A resolution calling on the European Commission to start a dialogue with Malta on the functioning of the rule of law was overwhelmingly approved by MEPs. Though the list of names forming this delegation has not yet been formally approved, it will consist of MEPs from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, as well as the Pana Committee. The latter is familiar with the local context, having...