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Watch: Tense Exchange In European Parliament As Daniel Attard Responds To MEP’s Corruption Index Criticism

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Things got heated in the European Parliament today when Maltese MEP Daniel Attard (PL) found himself in the middle of a heated back-and-forth over Malta’s latest performance on the GRECO corruption index.

The debate kicked off when foreign MEP Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle took aim at Malta’s apparent backslide in the respected Council of Europe ranking, raising concerns about the island’s rule of law, transparency, and anti-corruption standards.

“GRECO isn’t just another scoreboard,” Garcia warned, calling it a trusted benchmark for how seriously countries tackle corruption. She pressed Attard on why he seemed to downplay the findings: “How can you dispute its results?”

Attard, clearly not one to let the criticism slide, shot back with a history lesson, reminding everyone of some Nationalist Party skeletons in Malta’s political closet.

He pointed to the era when Eddie Fenech Adami moved from Prime Minister to President, and referenced controversial decisions from that time, including a presidential pardon granted to a convicted drug offender.

“If we’re going to talk about accountability,” Attard said, “we can’t just ignore what came before.”

Still, he wasn’t entirely defensive. Attard acknowledged that Malta has more work to do to strengthen the rule of law, but insisted that significant reforms have already been rolled out to tackle corruption and reinforce justice.

Garcia, however, wasn’t convinced, pushing again for specifics and insisting that GRECO’s findings can’t simply be brushed aside.

The tense exchange ended with Attard reaffirming Malta’s commitment to ongoing reforms, though the moment made one thing clear: Malta’s reputation in Europe is still under the microscope, and its MEPs are going to be fielding some tough questions for a while.

What do you make of this?

Footage via European Parliament

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Gabriel Falzon is the social media executive at Lovin Malta, with a keen interest in digital media, local businesses, and the natural world. Outside of work, you’ll often find him baking up a storm, diving into video games, or exploring the endless corners of YouTube.

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