European Commission to restart hiring process following Agius Saliba's complaint to Ombudsman

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba has won a case against European Commission after its decision to appoint a non-Maltese person for the position of Economic Analyst within the European Semester Officer’s office based in Malta. 

Following a complaint by Agius Saliba with the Ombudsman, the European Commission will now need to restart the hiring process to make sure that the qualifications for the position are met and that a Maltese-speaking candidate is chosen for the position, which is currently occupied by a Latvian national. “My actions have protected Maltese applicants and the role of the Maltese language as the national language spoken in the Maltese islands,” said Agius Saliba following his victory.

The position in question has a variety of roles, including fostering economic development, keeping an eye on the state of the economy, keeping an eye on how national recovery and resilience plans are being carried out, and coordinating and monitoring employment and social policies. Because of the frequent local interactions that these duties need, the Semester Officer's office has branches in each member state's representative of the European Commission. 

The European Commission said that because correspondence in Malta is typically conducted in English, the finalist, a Latvian, would have been qualified for the job. Despite English being an official language in Malta, understanding regional subtleties and idiosyncrasies that are specific to the local setting, culture, and customs is made possible by having a working knowledge of the local language. 

“I will always fight with all available means to ensure that Malta is treated in a fair and equal manner.  The Maltese language is not inferior to other official languages.  Our ability to speak two languages should not be used to discriminate against us,” Agius Saliba concluded.