Justice Minister calls out Jason Azzopardi over Politico comments

Owen Bonnici criticised Azzopardi for his comments suggesting Malta would not back EU corruption prosecutor because of a 'vested interest in not fighting corruption' 

Owen Bonnici has called out Jason Azzopardi over comments he gave to Brussels-based newspaper Politico
Owen Bonnici has called out Jason Azzopardi over comments he gave to Brussels-based newspaper Politico

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, speaking in Parliament tonight, criticised shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi for comments he gave the Brussels-based newspaper Politico, in which he said that the Maltese government would not back the establishment of European public prosecutor’s office because it had a vested interest not to fight corruption.

“Shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi said that the Maltese government’s decision was no surprise at all, given what he described as the government’s vested interest not to fight corruption or money-laundering,” read the report.

Bonnici said that it was acceptable for issues to be debated in Parliament, but this did not mean that Malta’s reputation abroad should be tarnished, especially when both sides of the house had agreed on what Malta’s position would be.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil responded by saying that he was “disappointed” at the fact that the minister had said that issues should be debated in Parliament but not abroad.

He added that this exacerbated by the fact that Bonnici was saying this on a day when the deputy leader of the Labour Party had threatened democracy by asking for a garnishee order to freeze blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia’s bank account.