Labour MEP candidate says Metsola ‘fooling people’ when speaking about lack of EP translators

Labour MEP candidate Clint Azzopardi Flores accused President Roberta Metsola of "fooling people" when speaking about the lack of translators at the European Parliament.

He was citing excerpts from what he claimed to be a correspondence letter between the EP President and the Prime Minister.

"Roberta Metsola wrote to Prime Minister Robert Abela on 8 April, but on 30 January, the resolution by the general secretary had already been passed," he said on TVM’s Xtra.

Last week, Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer slammed Metsola for her failure to ensure the translation of Maltese speeches in the parliament during the next five years.

Taking to Facebook, Engerer explained that during the current EP term, Maltese speeches were translated during every meeting held by the institution.

In comments to MaltaToday, a spokesperson for the European Parliament President claimed that Prime Minister Robert Abela did not reply to letters sent by Robert Metsola regarding the lack of Maltese interpreters at the institution.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister told MaltaToday that the President of the European Parliament should not attribute her own shortcomings to the Government.

During Xtra, Azzopardi Flores accused Metsola of evading responsibility, stating that she "threw out the Maltese language."

He criticised Metsola for failing to take action or identify existing problems faced by Maltese interpreters, asserting, “she didn't make an action plan, she didn't see what the problem was.”

Pressed by host Saviour Balzan on whether the issue also lay with the government, Flores said Metsola should have spoken to the Maltese embassy for the EU.

He explained that while communicating with interpreters in Brussels, he was informed that they need improved working conditions as well.

The letter dated 8 February 2024, seen by MaltaToday, shows Metsola acknowledging the need for more interpreters and translators in Brussels.

Metsola stated in the letter that the European Parliament is ready to work with the government to tackle the issues, but also informed that the EP is already addressing this.

"With the aim of addressing the shortage of linguists, the European Parliament has initiated a cooperation program with the University of Malta, aimed at providing targeted assistance for the training of conference interpreters," Metsola wrote in her letter.

Metsola concluded her letter by acknowledging the importance of Maltese in the EU political sphere, stating that not only MEPs need to express themselves, but citizens have the right witness the democratic process in their own mother tongue.

In the second document shown by the MEP candidate on Xtra, which is dated 30 January 2024, Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti confirms that "despite adequate precautions," the required Maltese linguists are not available in sufficient numbers.