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having regard to Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

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having regard to Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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having regard to Articles 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’),

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having regard to its resolutions of 15 November 2017 on the rule of law in Malta (1), of 28 March 2019 on the situation of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in the EU, specifically in Malta and Slovakia (2), of 18 December 2019 on the rule of law in Malta following the recent revelations surrounding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia (3), of 29 April 2021 on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the rule of law in Malta (4) and of 20 October 2022 on the rule of law in Malta, five years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia (5),

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having regard to the hearings, exchanges of views and delegation visits carried out by the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs since 15 November 2017,

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having regard to the exchanges of letters between the Chair of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group and the Prime Minister of Malta,

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having regard to Resolution 2293 (2019) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 26 June 2019 entitled ‘Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and the rule of law in Malta and beyond: ensuring that the whole truth emerges’,

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having regard to the report on the follow-up to resolution 2293 (2019) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, endorsed by the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on 8 December 2020,

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having regard to Opinion No 993/2020 of the Venice Commission of 8 October 2020 on ten Acts and bills implementing legislative proposals subject of Opinion CDL-AD(2020)006,

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having regard to the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe following her visit to Malta from 11 to 16 October 2021,

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having regard to the letter of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe of 23 September 2022 to the Prime Minister of Malta, and to the reply of the Prime Minister of Malta of 4 October 2022,

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having regard to the letters of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe to the Prime Minister and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta of 26 September 2023, and to their respective replies,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 5 July 2023 entitled ‘2023 Rule of Law Report’ (COM(2023)0800),

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having regard to the mission report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs following the visit of its Delegation on the Rule of Law to Valletta, Malta, from 23 to 25 May 2022,

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having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 2 TEU of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities – values that are common to the EU Member States and to which candidate countries must adhere in order to join the Union as part of the Copenhagen criteria, which cannot be disregarded or reinterpreted after accession; whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values which, when undermined, may pose a systemic threat to the Union and the rights and freedoms of its citizens;

B.

whereas the rule of law, respect for democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and the values and principles enshrined in the EU Treaties and international human rights instruments are obligations incumbent on the Union and its Member States and must be complied with;

C.

whereas the Charter is part of EU primary law; whereas freedom of expression and freedom and pluralism of the media are enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR);

D.

whereas the independence of the judiciary is enshrined in Article 19(1) TEU, Article 47 of the Charter and Article 6 of the ECHR, and is essential to end impunity for crimes against journalists and to ensure their safety and protection; whereas in order to avoid impunity, Member States have an obligation to take all necessary steps to bring the perpetrators of crimes against journalists and other media actors to justice; whereas an independent and efficient judicial system, as well as the adoption and full implementation of measures to guarantee media freedom, freedom of expression, the right of access to information and the protection of journalists and media professionals, are key ingredients to promote and create an environment for free and independent journalism;

E.

whereas journalists, notably but not exclusively investigative journalists, are increasingly targeted by so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), both within and outside the EU, which are not intended to win a legal victory, but rather to exert financial, psychological and time pressure on journalists purely with the aim of frustrating their work, avoiding public scrutiny and preventing authorities from being held to account; whereas this has a chilling effect on media freedom; whereas the Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe has warned that ‘access to information in Malta continued to be hampered’, suggesting ‘a pattern of unwarranted secrecy within state institutions regarding information that could be of significant public interest’;

F.

whereas journalists have been targeted by spyware such as Pegasus and Predator; whereas according to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic, ‘highly intrusive spyware threatens the essence of human rights’ and should not be considered either necessary or proportionate in a democratic society; whereas the targeting of journalists with spyware endangers the confidentiality of their sources and, with that, the functioning and credibility of one of the most crucial pillars of our democratic societies, namely free access to information for all and the promotion of a pluralist media environment; whereas the EU institutions and the Member States should follow the recommendations from the report of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware without delay;

G.

whereas in the 2023 Rule of Law report, the Commission has underlined that there has been no further progress on access to official documents, taking into account the European Standards on the Protection of Journalists and that Maltese ‘journalists continue to face challenges in the exercise of their profession’;

H.

whereas Member States should urge the establishment of early warning and rapid response mechanisms to ensure that journalists and other media actors have immediate access to protective measures when they are threatened; whereas such mechanisms should be subject to meaningful civil society oversight and guarantee protection for whistleblowers and sources who wish to remain anonymous; whereas the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, Chapter 529 of the Laws of Malta was updated to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of union law (6), back in 2021;

I.

whereas the Maltese anti-corruption investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in a car bomb attack on 16 October 2017; whereas she was the target of harassment and numerous threats;

J.

whereas the murder investigations led by the Maltese authorities and assisted by Europol have led to the identification, arraignment and ongoing trial of several suspects and the potential mastermind behind the murder; whereas one of the convicted assassins of Daphne Caruana Galizia was publicly pictured at a family baptism party in February 2023; whereas the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe noted on 26 September 2023 that ‘no significant results have been obtained in bringing to justice all those responsible for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia’;

K.

whereas the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was used to conceal transactions allegedly linked to corruption that Daphne Caruana Galizia was exposing at the time of her assassination;

L.

whereas the chief of staff to the former prime minister of Malta and the former minister for tourism, formerly the minister for energy, and their families have been designated by the US Department of State due to their involvement in significant corruption and have thus been barred from entering the United States;

M.

whereas there has been no progress in the judicial proceedings against Pilatus Bank officials and the former partners of the now defunct Nexia BT and the corruption related to the ElectroGas contract that Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating at the time of her assassination and which were addressed in Parliament’s resolution of 20 October 2022;

N.

whereas the rule of law is not threatened solely by inadequate legal frameworks but also by the culture of impunity enabled by maintaining a grip on flawed institutional checks and balances that promote political interference and hamper effective enforcement, without which there can be no effective prosecutions for corruption;

O.

whereas an independent public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was initiated in late 2019 following a demand by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and eventually concluded its work on 29 July 2021; whereas the board of the public inquiry published its final report with a set of conclusions and recommendations on strengthening the rule of law, the respect of press freedom, freedom of expression and the protection of journalists, on legal reform at constitutional level and on legislative proposals regarding media freedom; whereas the public inquiry also established that ‘whilst there was no evidence that the State as such had any role in the assassination of Mrs Caruana Galizia, ... the State should bear the responsibility for the assassination by creating a climate of impunity, generated from the highest levels at the core of the administration at Castille and spreading its tentacles to other entities such as regulatory institutions and the Police which led to the collapse of the rule of law’; whereas the evidence presented to the public inquiry ‘revealed an extended culture of impunity not only for the highest officials within the public administration, including persons of trust, but also for the restricted circle of politicians, businessmen and criminals’;

P.

whereas Maltese investigative journalists exposed a scandal involving the buying of votes of disgruntled government supporters, enticing them using forged official documents, including fake medical certificates; whereas fixers and intermediaries then sought kickbacks and extorted the direct beneficiaries for payments; whereas the Malta Employers’ Association said that covering up such scandals under the pretext that this is the normal functioning of the political system is unacceptable and sends a dangerous message to all sectors of Maltese society; whereas governing party fixers and intermediaries continue to be protected from prosecution; whereas these incidents make it evident that serious governance issues in Malta persist and that this affects people’s lives in Malta, as well as the country’s international reputation;

Q.

whereas Maltese investigative journalists exposed another scandal involving the trading of influence of government officials to award driving licences on the basis of the recipient’s political allegiance; whereas none of the high-ranking officials who passed on names for preferential treatment have been prosecuted;

R.

whereas leaked evidence indicates that data held by the governing party on the population’s voting preferences was used to deny government services and systematically discriminate against citizens; whereas the Malta Data Protection Commissioner has opened an investigation into the systematic abuse of private citizens’ data;

S.

whereas the Maltese Prime Minister has downplayed acts of institutionalised corruption in such a way that it continues to entrench the culture of impunity for public officials allegedly embroiled in scandals;

T.

whereas in September 2023, civil society activists were interrogated by the police after holding protests against the national broadcaster, whose chairman was implicated in the scandals but remains unprosecuted; whereas non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives have accused the national public broadcaster of censorship; whereas Malta’s score on the Transparency Corruption perception index is now 51, dropping three points compared to the previous year, and according to Transparency International, one of the main reasons behind this is political interference in the public media; whereas in February 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Broadcasting Authority has a constitutional duty to, ex officio, proactively and expeditiously ensure impartiality in broadcasting;

U.

whereas the Government of Malta has proposed a number of reforms to address some of the recommendations of the public inquiry, including draft legislation to strengthen media freedom and a proposal for an anti-SLAPP law; whereas the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe urged Members of the Maltese Parliament to reject the Government’s proposals because they ‘largely ignored’ input from national and international actors; whereas the Commissioner criticised the Government for omitting ‘the transparency and thorough consultation that the gravity of the situation demands’;

V.

whereas the most recent Media Pluralism Monitor rated the risk for editorial autonomy and political independence as ‘high’, and has re-evaluated the overall risk to media pluralism in Malta from ‘medium’ to ‘high’;

W.

whereas the 2023 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index revealed a worsening of the national media landscape, with Malta ranking 84th out of 180 entries, dropping six positions in comparison with 2022; whereas, according to the same report, the national legal and regulatory framework does not allow journalists to exercise their rights;

X.

whereas Maltese news outlet The Shift News has been SLAPPed with 40 separate legal proceedings from public authorities against freedom of information requests concerning public expenditure related to the independent media; whereas the proceedings that have been concluded have been won by The Shift News at great expense;

Y.

whereas, according to the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe, the number of SLAPP cases in Europe increased in 2022 to a record of 161 documented cases; whereas, according to the same results, Malta had the highest number of SLAPPs per capita, with 19,93 cases per 100 000 people; whereas Daphne Caruana Galizia faced 43 civil and 5 criminal lawsuits at the time of her murder;

Z.

whereas the recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption continue to be ignored, however, as noted by the Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe;

AA.

whereas efforts to protect journalism cannot succeed without an equal effort to fight corruption and money laundering, and the fight against corruption and money laundering will fail without a strong and pluralist press;