Valletta (AFP)
The investigation into the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia appears to have "seriously undermined" the confidence of the European Union in the independence of justice on the small island, said Tuesday a member of the European Parliament.
"Cooperation within the EU is based on trust and I thought it was very obvious to everyone, but that confidence has been seriously undermined," said Dutch MP Sophie in't Veld, arriving the day before in Valletta.
"The problem is not only between the magistrates and the Maltese people, it is also a problem between Malta and the EU," she added, adding: "we will see what we hear" from here the end of the mission.
The Liberal MEP is leading a delegation of seven members of the European Parliament who arrived in Malta on Monday night and will remain there until Wednesday.
This urgent mission was announced, from a European parliamentary source, because of "questions about the independence of the judicial system and serious accusations of corruption at the highest levels".
"Malta is part of Europe, this case concerns us all," the member had tweeted on Friday.
The European delegation will meet, in addition to the family of the killed journalist, journalists and NGOs, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as well as President George Vella and other senior police and judicial officials.
In Brussels, European Commissioner Vera Jourova "expressed her concern over the situation in Malta" and "insisted that the investigation be completed without any political interference", during a telephone conversation Monday with the Maltese Minister of justice, said Tuesday a spokesman.
Mr Muscat, the resigning prime minister, is accused by the journalist's family of intervening to protect his chief of staff who was implicated in the case.
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was investigating corruption in Malta, was killed in the explosion of her car bomb on 16 October 2017.
© 2019 AFP