Louis Galea faces grilling in Brussels tomorrow

Speaker Louis Galea will tomorrow face the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee in Brussels to determine whether he will be accepted as Malta's member on the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

Dr Galea will face questions from the committee in an afternoon session, although the grilling is not expected to be as tough as that reserved for European Commissioners.

At the end of the session, the committee will produce an assessment and hold a secret ballot to determine whether the Maltese nominee should serve as a member of the Luxembourg-based EU auditing watchdog for the coming six years.

The committee's recommendation will then be put to a vote at the EP's plenary session to be held later this month. None of the five Maltese MEPs is a member of the committee, although they are expected to follow proceedings.

Dr Galea has been preparing for this day since his surprise nomination at the end of January, informed sources said. He held a series of one-to-one meetings in Brussels with prominent members of the committee, including the Spanish Socialist rapporteur Ines Ayala Sender.

If approved, Dr Galea will assume his post in Luxembourg at the beginning of May when the term of Malta's first member, former Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici, ends.

Prof. Bonnici's hopes for a second mandate were dashed after Dr Gonzi declared that such posts should only be occupied for one term.

If Dr Galea has a successful session tomorrow, he is expected to resign from his post as Speaker once approved by the EP. He will take up residence in Luxembourg and appoint his Cabinet, which will probably include a Maltese as his chief of staff.

On his appointment, Dr Galea will see a massive increase in salary. Members of the ECA are paid similar salaries and financial perks as those paid to European Commissioners, reaching almost €200,000 annually, apart from substantial residence, entertainment and travel allowances.

Dr Galea countered criticism that he lacks the necessary expertise to act as one of the EU's auditors by saying his long experience as minister responsible for an array of portfolios equipped him with the knowledge to occupy the prestigious EU post.

Dr Galea was the longest-serving minister of the Fenech Adami administrations and considered by many as a pioneer of the new Nationalist Party following the end of the Borg Olivier era in the mid-1970s.

He has occupied the post of Speaker since 2008 after failing to be re-elected at the last general election.