The Council of Europe has delayed a decision on whether Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar should be sanctioned for possible ethical breaches, saying it needs further information from Malta's parliament.
However it did find her guilty of a "minor breach" of its Code of Ethics for failing to submit her 2018 declaration of interests for four years.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s rules committee met in Paris on Tuesday to decide whether to sanction Cutajar following a complaint filed against her by another member.
The issue revolves around a 2019 speech in which Cutajar shot down a colleague’s report into the Daphne Caruana Galizia case and the rule of law in Malta.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the Coe said it had asked the Speaker of the Maltese Parliament for "detailed information" on its own procedure regarding the MP.
"Pending receipt of this information and the completion of the national parliamentary procedure, [the Council of Europe] decided to resume the consideration of this matter, no later than during the 2022 second part-session of the Assembly," it said.
It also decided that Cutajar's failure to submit a declaration of interests since 2018 for four consecutive years "constituted a minor breach of the Code of Conduct" and decided to inform the Speaker of the Maltese parliament.
Why is Rosianne Cutajar being investigated?
Cutajar had derided a report by Pieter Omtzigt, rapporteur for the Council of Europe's resolution on Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination when she spoke at the assembly in June of that year.
That report made explicit reference to Yorgen Fenech and his secret company 17 Black, which Caruana Galizia was the first to name. Fenech stands accused of complicity in the journalist’s assassination. He is pleading not guilty to charges.
That 2019 speech came into sharper focus in December 2020, when Times of Malta revealed that Cutajar was being chased to repay money she allegedly made by brokering a property deal for Fenech.
Reports concerning that alleged deal sparked an investigation by parliament's standards commissioner.
Cutajar was permanently relegated to the Labour backbench after the investigation report concluded that she had probably breached ethics rules.
More than 30 members of the Council of Europe assembly endorsed a request to investigate Cutajar filed by Dutch MP Peter Omtzigt, who authored the 2019 report that Cutajar had spoken against.
Omtzigt cited the reports about Cutajar's links to Fenech as the reason why the Maltese MP should be investigated.
After the assembly's warning, Cutajar had defiantly written: "I will not be intimidated. I will continue to defend Malta's name."
Cutajar was removed from Malta’s delegation to the Council of Europe last month. She was replaced by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and later said she had asked to be replaced.
If the committee finds Cutajar guilty of breaching the rules, it could sanction her by temporarily banning her from speaking at the assembly, signing resolutions or motions, asking questions, acting as a rapporteur or serving on committees.
She could also be temporarily or permanently suspended as an assembly member altogether.