Louis Galea to get top Luxembourg job

Speaker Louis Galea is to be nominated as Malta's representative at the European Court of Auditors.

The government made the announcement shortly after the news was broken last night on timesofmalta.com.

The appointment will bring the curtain down on the 35-year political career of one of the most prominent Maltese politicians in recent years.

Dr Galea, 62, will be the second Nationalist heavyweight to leave the House of Representatives in a matter of months, following the imminent departure of Social Policy Minister John Dalli who has been nominated as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy.

Malta's seat at the European Court of Auditors is currently occupied by former Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici, whose term ends in May. However, the Prime Minister has made it clear that he does not believe posts of this nature should be occupied by a person for more than one term.

It is understood that the Prime Minister met Dr Galea to discuss the post and also thanked Prof. Bonnici for his service.

Speculation had been rife over the government's nominee for the European Court of Auditors' post, which comes with an annual salary of over €200,000, plus substantial allowances and a 75 per cent pension.

Several names had been mentioned, including Malta's Permanent EU Representative Richard Cachia Caruana - who made it known he was not interested - as well as Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise - GRTU director general Vince Farrugia, and former Foreign Minister Michael Frendo.

However, Dr Galea is a surprise choice, not least because he has little experience in financial and economic affairs unlike the majority of the other members nominated by member states.

The court carries out audits, through which it assesses the collection and spending of EU funds, and examines whether financial operations have been properly recorded and disclosed, legally and regularly executed.

A former minister and one of the Nationalist Party's finest strategists, Dr Galea failed to get elected in the March 2008 election for the first time since 1976. The former general secretary was at one point also tipped to be President before George Abela's nomination last year.

There had been speculation that Dr Galea would contest a casual election in the sixth district to replace Mr Dalli on the government's benches, but there was no guarantee he would be elected.

Like Commissioners-designate, the new court nominees will have to face hearings in front of MEPs before they get the green light to occupy the post. These hearings have been set for mid-March in front of the Committee for Budgets.

Malta had ignored the November deadline set by the Council of the EU to propose a name, and was given until the end of this month to make up its mind.

Malta was also the last member state to nominate its Commissioner-designate. A nomination on the ECA is considered one of the most prestigious positions in the EU. Once selected, Dr Galea must take up residence within commuting distance of Luxembourg.