Updated 6.30pm with government statement

Jean Paul Sofia’s mother has taken her battle to improve Malta’s construction safety to the European Union.

Isabelle Bonnici was the guest of honour at a round table discussion held in Brussels on Wednesday which focused on construction site laws in Malta.

“I would like the European Union to force Malta to introduce national building codes,” she said at the event. “These codes have been ready for three years but were held back by a certain minister who did not want to upset contractors,” she said.

Bonnici’s son was killed in December 2022, when the partially built building he was in collapsed onto him.

Jean Paul Sofia was killed when a building under construction at Corradino collapsed. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Five people, including the project’s architect, developer and contractor, have been charged. They are pleading not guilty and their case remains ongoing.

A public inquiry into the crime found multiple shortcomings in Malta’s construction site regulation and also heard a former government consultant testify that the first national building codes – which would regulate minimum construction standards  - had been drafted and concluded.

The construction sector regulator, the BCA, had subsequently issued a statement insisting that the codes were still being drafted.

Those codes remain secret to this day, and the government has given no indication as to when – or if – they will be introduced.

“In Malta, we have a culture of bullies and cowboys in this sector, and they try to instil fear in those who stand up to them to prevent them from continuing to cause harm,” Bonnici told her audience.

“I’m not afraid of them, because I’ve got nothing left to lose anymore.”

Jean Paul Sofia's mother says she has "nothing to lose" after her only child was killed. Photo: Family handout

The grieving mother also made another point during her brief intervention.

“EU-funded state projects must include certification of the concrete and bricks used. Other construction projects are not obliged to do so. Why isn’t everyone being protected?” she asked, noting how sub-standard materials were one of the contributing factors that led to her son’s death.

The round table discussion which Bonnici took part in was organised by MEP Peter Agius.

Speaking at the event, Agius noted that the Sofia inquiry had listed over 40 recommendations to improve the safety of Malta's construction sector.

He said introducing new legislation was pointless unless it was also enforced.

“We owe it to the victims and their families to ensure laws are rigorously applied,” he said.

Enforcement, however, is down to individual member states and the EU does not have a say in it – something Patricia Perez Gomez from the European Commission noted in her intervention.

PN Opposition MP Jerome Caruana Cilia also participated in the discussion warning of dire consequences if there is no decisive action: “If we don’t have the will and courage to address this problem at its roots, I fear that history will repeat itself,” he said.

The discussion was also addressed by the Director General of the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) Domenico Campogrande.

Government: Codes still not finalised

In a statement, the government said the Sofia inquiry had confirmed that "there was never a scenario whereby the revised national building codes were concluded and not put into place.

"In fact, at the invitation of the Government, the Chamber of Architects submitted a proposal outlining how we can collaborate to ensure that our country adopts the Eurocodes in the near future. Government is committed to discussing this proposal further and finalizing the agreement," it said.

The government noted that it has undertaken several measures in the past months to improve construction site safety, including a new OHSA law, a free service by lawyers and architects to assist third parties affected by construction, rules on standalone buildings and a dedicated 138 helpline.