For years, MEPs and European political parties have clamoured for Article 7 sanctions by the European Commission against governments that fall foul of the rule of law, with a suspension of EU funds for such member states.

€138 billion in EU funds are on the line unless states like Hungary and Poland take steps to get back in the fold of rule of law. Withholding this kind of cash has already meant Hungary has had to introduce new taxes to plug its budget holes.

Some of Bernard Grech’s candidates for Europe believe Brussels should find a new way of bypassing the pain of frozen EU funds, away from the electorate – the very citizenry that has the power to change errant governments.

But that’s muddled thinking, especially when considering that some EU member states believe they have the power to breach the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular the protection of LGBTQI people. Are they in favour of EU power to safeguard the rule of law or not?

While Malta’s rule of law shortcomings have never even come close to the egregious nature of Article 7 sanctions, MEPs have discussed an average of three resolutions each year on Malta – some 11 separate occasions – with groups such as the centre-right European People’s Party weaponising misinformation against Malta.

As European citizens, we should welcome the public-spirited dialogue championed by the European Parliament. But when party politics trump reason, it is no wonder that citizens are left disillusioned by critics styling themselves as paladins of this European spirit.

Compare the EPP-led criticism of Malta’s socialist administration to the silence of EPP members on the spying allegations levelled at the EPP-led Greek government, where a mass monitoring of mobile phones was taking place on Greek politicians, the leader of the social democratic party PASOK and journalists – a modern-day Watergate.

Remarkably enough, in the week that a LIBE (EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) delegation was to visit Greece on a rule of mission back in March, it was Malta that was being debated in the European Parliament, with EPP members firing pot-shots at the Labour administration despite the numerous reforms in rule of law it is currently spearheading.

Not only, but, in that same week, the EPP’s members pulled out of the LIBE fact-finding mission in Greece due to the tragic train accident that killed 57 people: it was the only political party to pull out of the delegation, planned for months before to assess rule of law and the erosion of media freedom. Senior Greek officials even refused to meet the LIBE delegation in Athens.

Groups such as the centre-right European People’s Party have weaponised misinformation against Malta- Chris Bonett

So why was Malta once again being set up for an afternoon debate of endless criticism? Simple: the resolution to discuss Greece, as part of the European Commission’s annual rule of law report, had been initiated by socialist MEPs. So, in a tit-for-tat response, the EPP requested a similar discussion on Malta, a Labour-led member state.

By that time, the Greek elections of May were edging closer. So, the resolutions on Greece and Malta were withdrawn, after the main political blocs feared a vote on these resolutions would interfere with the elections.

So, is rule of law truly a moral conviction for some European lawmakers or is it simply part of the arsenal of party-politics, if not electoral strategy? I can only surmise that when it matters to certain critics, it is only the latter.

Where have our own EPP critics shown the same rancour on Malta, with their own EPP-led governments? Take the flak faced by Roberta Metsola in 2020 – justifiably so – when she was accused of watering down a resolution against the EPP-led Bulgarian government, then facing massive anti-corruption protests.

The truth of the matter for Malta has been spelt out by none other than European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as well as European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, where our ongoing progress on rule of law reforms has been acknowledged: reforms of our justice system, starting in 2020, that continue to this day; a first national Digital Justice Strategy; adoption of the National Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy; and, more importantly, our open dialogue with the European Commission, the Venice Commission and the LIBE committee itself.

Malta’s leaders, unlike some other counterparts, have not shied away from meeting head-on these historic challenges on rule of law and democratisation.

Even while facing the daggers of party-political criticism, Labour has kept an open and transparent dialogue with its European peers. This is what meaningful action is.

Chris Bonett is Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds.