The Prime Minister could find better candidates from the Nationalist Party for the post of EU Commissioner than Richard Cachia Caruana, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
He was referring to recent media reports naming Mr Cachia Caruana, Malta's Permanent Representative at the European Commission, as Commissioner Joe Borg's successor.
Dr Borg, who worked brilliantly over the past five years, and Joanna Drake, the head of the Commission's Representation Office in Malta, were two names among those the Prime Minister could consider.
During a political activity during which he fielded questions by journalists, Dr Muscat criticised Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi for taking a "convenient" decision over the St John's Co-Cathedral underground museum extension project.
He wondered whether Dr Gonzi decided to call off the project a few hours before Labour's motion on the matter was about to be debated in Parliament because he feared losing a vote.
Referring to an article that appeared in The Sunday Times yesterday, Dr Muscat said the Archbishop had informed Dr Gonzi several weeks ago that it was not the competence of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation to carry out such a major project without prior approval from the Church and the state.
He promised not to let the matter lie and to reveal all the evidence the Labour Party (PL) had about the project.
Dr Muscat referred to an e-mail sent by Labour MP Anton Refalo to the European Commission asking whether the Commission allocated funds for individual projects. The Commission replied that it approved funding for an operational programme but not for individual projects.
The Planning and Priorities Coordination Division (PPCD) at the Office of the Prime Minister had approved the museum extension project, which meant that Dr Gonzi had given the go-ahead for the project, Dr Muscat said.
The Nationalist Party later rebutted this, saying that Dr Muscat still did not understand how EU funds were allocated. The process to obtain funds was governed by EU regulations, the PN said, which included a public call for projects and a transparent selection process.
The Project Selection Committee approved projects and the whole process was open to auditing by the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the Auditor General in Malta, the PN said.
Dr Muscat said that, last week, during a formal, internal PN meeting, two people holding an institutional post said that funds were allocated to the project "because there was someone who knew how to play the game". During the meeting, it was also said that undue pressure was made on people who had a say in the decision to push the project ahead.
The PL was expecting the two individuals in question to come forward with the information and call for an investigation. If not, Dr Muscat said, the PL will do so instead.
On the health sector, Dr Muscat said a Labour government would not allow patients to suffer injustices. He mentioned the case of a 64-year-old man, suffering from prostate cancer, who had to pay €930 every three weeks for medication while living on a pension of €500 a month.
"When this man asked why he has to fork out the money, he was bluntly told that he had no right to free medicines because the cancer started in the wrong place - in his prostrate and not in his breast," Dr Muscat said.
The PN, reacting to these comments, accused Dr Muscat of using the man's serious case for his own political advantage. The PL knew that the government was doing its best to improve the health services as was reflected in the fight against cancer, the PN said.