Justice Minister refuses to meet MEPs on his own

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has refused to meet with MEPs on a rule of law mission alone and is instead expected to sit down with the delegation together with Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna. The MEPs from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), are in Malta on a two-day mission to probe the rule of law and the investigations into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. They requested a meeting with Dr Bonnici to discuss issues that fall within his remit as justice minister. Dr Bonnici said he would be willing to meet the MEPs together with Mr Fearne and Prof. Scicluna. Sources said the MEPs, while open to sitting down with anyone, were surprised to learn that the justice minister would not meet them unless his two colleagues also attended. The three ministers are expected to meet the MEPs later on Thursday. Since arriving on Wednesday, the MEPs have met with the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner, the Chief Justice as well as journalists and the family of Ms Caruana Galizia. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was also asked to meet with the MEPs, could not attend as he is currently in Salzburg...