A delegation from the European Parliament probing the rule of law in Malta will be returning to the island on September 17, the Times of Malta has learnt.

This will be the third visit to Malta by members of a group from the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

Read: Malta portrayed as a crooked country in MEP debate

The visit was announced earlier this summer when Sophie in ’t Veld, a Dutch MEP and head of the delegation, said it would take stock of the developments in Malta, especially those related to the rule of law and the investigation into the murder of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Read: Daphne's murder was 'a warning to others' - Dutch MEP

The delegation will be bigger than the previous two and will operate under the new working group set up within the civil liberties committee, the Times of Malta was told. Formed earlier this year, the group was given a general mandate to monitor corruption and the rule of law within the EU and to address specific situations.

Following their first mission last December, MEPs expressed serious concerns about the unclear separation of powers in Malta, which they feared called into question the independence of the judiciary and the police. They also expressed concern that the implementation of anti-money-laundering regulations was weak, pointing to serious problems linked to the Individual Investor Programme, the cash-for-passports scheme.

In comments to the BBC last month, the Dutch MEP said the committee still had concerns about corruption, insisting that “a number of things” had yet to be clarified.