Chris Fearne has left the door open to becoming an EU Commission nominee again, saying the decision is "up to the prime minister".

Fearne resigned as deputy prime minister and withdrew his nomination as Malta's next EU commissioner last May after prosecutors filed fraud charges against him over a deal to privatise three state hospitals.

He resigned despite Prime Minister Robert Abela's public plea for him to stay in office. 

As he emerged from another court hearing on Tuesday, the former deputy prime minister was asked if he still wanted to be Malta's EU commissioner if he cleared his name in court.

"It's not a question of if, but when I clear my name," Fearne said, adding he will let the court carry out its duties.

Asked again if he wanted the job, Fearne said: "That's not my decision; it's a decision for the prime minister."

Fearne was speaking after Times of Malta reported that he was the target of a Steward Health Care-funded smear campaign that included "fake" corruption claims.

When asked if he felt betrayed by Joseph Muscat's government, Fearne said, "This €6 million frame-up, if anything, shows that as a minister I always did my job without fear or favour towards anyone," he said while thanking all those who expressed solidarity with him.

He said he will continue defending his name in court.

Fearne was also asked what he thought about Keith Schembri's potential involvement in the frame-up, considering that Steward Malta CEO Armin Ernst went to the former OPM chief of staff when he had problems with Fearne.

"I have made the necessary comments in two statements today,"  Fearne replied.

Prime Minister Abela picked Fearne as Malta's commission nominee last January amid a cabinet reshuffle.

Since Fearne's withdrawal, Abela has not announced any other names, although several in the cabinet see ministers Owen Bonnici and Miriam Dalli as possible candidates. 

Glenn Micallef, who recently resigned as government chief of staff, has also been mentioned as a possible nominee.

Government and EU sources say Abela is running out of time to pick a commissioner, a sentiment shared by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

In the run-up to last June's EU elections, Metsola said countries are already lobbying for portfolios in the commission, and Malta is out of that discussion.

"Make no mistake, if we waste any more time, we will not have an effective enough portfolio," she said.

A country's commissioner is not only responsible for a portfolio on an EU level but is also the member state's ambassador - alerting their government whenever their state is impacted by an EU law, Metsola said.

EU commissioners need to be nominated by their national government before the president of the European Commission allocates a portfolio for them. 

Following that, they must survive a European Parliament grilling which would endorse the whole body of commissioners. This is followed by the formal approval of the European Council, a body made up of the heads of government from each member state.