‘Why Don’t You Take The Lead?’ Cyrus Engerer Challenges Government Over Metsola Criticism
After several PL exponents criticised Roberta Metsola’s conflict of interest case, former PL MEP Cyrus Engerer urged the government to take the lead by introduce a lobbying and transparency register in Malta.
Engerer said he has been advocating for such a register for some seven years and had convinced the PL to include it in its 2017 electoral manifesto, but it went unimplemented.
He said that in 2020, while he was working in the secretariat of Minister Aaron Farrugia, they took the initiative to set up a transparency register for the minister and all staff.
However, he warned that it “wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms, likely because it set a high standard for accountability” and never went online, even though all meetings were recorded.
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When Engerer was elected to the European Parliament later that year, he immediately established his own transparency register.
“The Parliament requires rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs to disclose meetings with lobbyists tied to the legislation they would be working on. I went further—my office has registered all the meetings that I or my staff had during the whole mandate and published them on our website’s ‘Nothing to Hide’ section,” he said.
“Not only do we disclose who we meet and when, but we also publish the minutes for all to see, because hey we have nothing to hide.”
Engerer said that while Metsola should list her conflicts of interest, the government should go beyond expressing shock.
“So here’s my challenge to the government: instead of expressing shock and horror over Roberta Metsola not declaring her husband’s employment—a fact that wasn’t hidden and was known in the Brussels bubble— introduce a lobby and transparency register now,” he said.
“Politicians work on behalf of citizens. Meetings are held on behalf of citizens. Therefore, citizens have the right to know who politicians meet, when, and why—especially when special interests are involved.”
“At the same time, if the opposition is serious about good governance, it could set an example by starting this today itself.”
“Let’s move past hypocrisy and start practicing genuine transparency – I won’t hold my breath though.”
Should the government introduce a lobbying and transparency register?
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