Updated 5.15pm with PN reaction

Labour MP and former minister Edward Zammit Lewis is to be nominated to the General Court of the EU.

Government sources confirmed reports that Prime Minister Robert Abela intends to nominate Zammit Lewis to the post.

He will replace Judge Ramona Frendo, who has moved to the EU’s higher court, the European Court of Justice, following the retirement of Judge Peter Xuereb.

Zammit Lewis is a lawyer and served as Malta’s justice minister for two years, between 2020 and 2022.

Abela subsequently chose to leave him out of cabinet. He now serves as a backbench MP and chairs parliament’s Foreign and European Affairs Committee.

Nominees to the EU’s General Court must be approved by a panel of experts before they can serve on the court. Judges serve six-year terms.

Zammit Lewis will be keen to highlight his work in steering through governance reforms advised by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.

He will be less eager to discuss his friendship with business magnate Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Leaked text messages which predated public knowledge of Fenech’s alleged involvement in the murder revealed that the two were on close terms, with Zammit Lewis telling Fenech that the average Labour voter was a “Ġaħan” (village idiot).

First elected in 2013, Zammit Lewis was immediately promoted to cabinet by then-prime minister Joseph Muscat, serving as parliamentary secretary for competitiveness.

One year later, he was promoted to Tourism Minister and served until the end of that legislature in 2017.

He struggled to get reelected in that general election however, and only returned to parliament following a casual election.

That cost him his place in cabinet and Zammit Lewis only returned to the executive’s top table in 2019 when Helena Dalli’s nomination as EU Commissioner opened up a vacancy for Equality Minister.

Zammit Lewis’ parliamentary exit will open up a district 8 seat. However, with seven out of Labour’s 11 candidates in that district already in parliament, Abela might be able to replace Zammit Lewis through co-option.

That would allow Abela to hand-pick an individual to serve in parliament without being limited to the candidates who ran for a district 8 seat in the last general election.

Many of Abela’s current MPs were brought into parliament through co-option: from Miriam Dalli to Clyde Caruanam Randolph Debattista and Jonathan Attard, among others.  

'Zammit Lewis' nomination an insult' - PN

Reacting to news about the nomination of Zammit Lewis, the PN said in a statement the proposal was "an insult to all those who believe in justice".

"The choice of Zammit Lewis confirms Robert Abela does not care about the shouldering of political responsibility, and is choosing to reward those who abuse their political position," spokesperson for justice Karol Aquilina said in a statement.

The government should withdraw the nomination and launch a public process for the nomination of a person who would make Malta proud. 

"The choice should be based on merit and not partisan political convenience."