Sharon Ellul Bonici, who until recently worked as a consultant for the Eurosceptic Independence/ Democracy group, launched her campaign for the MEP elections yesterday by calling on voters to look beyond the "yes versus no" EU campaign "of the past".

Ms Ellul Bonici said she had adopted Labour's line against membership five years ago because she felt it was not the right time for Malta to join the EU. Clearly, the public felt otherwise and she respected that.

"Some maintain that I am still critical of the EU. But I look at it from a critical lens to bring issues to the surface with the aim of improvement. This doesn't mean that I will not be willing to do anything for the benefit of the country," she said.

Ms Ellul Bonici said she felt the government was not doing enough to ensure that Malta succeeded within the EU and, if elected, she and her team would take on that role.

Labour leader Joseph Muscat, who was also present, said the party's MEP candidates had to overcome people's "scepticism", given that the party had lost the last general election and had since undergone big internal changes.

"My appeal to the PL MEP candidates is to listen to the people and reflect their concerns so that they will be able to lead them and be proud representatives of socialism in the EU," Dr Muscat said.

Ms Ellul Bonici was the founder of the NO2EU campaign before Malta's EU referendum and has lived in Brussels for the past five years. She also had a short stint as assistant to Labour MEP John Attard Montalto.

She resigned from the Independence/Democracy group a few weeks ago after she was confirmed as a PL candidate for the Party of European Socialists.