The dissatisfaction of the Council of Europe's legal affairs committee on the rule of law situation in Malta confirmed that Prime Minister Robert Abela had failed this important test and was continuing to harm Malta's reputation, the Nationalist Party said on Wednesday.

Shadow ministers Jason Azzopardi and Karol Aquilina, who are responsible for justice and good governance respectively, said that Abela had not strengthened the national institutions. 

"Prime Minister Robert Abela should no longer drag his feet and blame others for his and the government's failure. To date, people such as Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri have still not been prosecuted and the institutions are still dancing to the tune of those interested in ensuring that serious cases of corruption do not end up before the courts," the MPs said.

Furthermore, Abela was irresponsibly insisting that the public inquiry into the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder should be stopped, despite knowing that it could be concluded only when the presiding judges completed their work. 

The prime minister's actions were dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society based on the rule of law, the MPs said. 

In its report, the Council of Europe committee said that implementation of its recommendations on ensuring justice for Caruana Galizia remain “fundamentally unsatisfactory, with no final results”.

Malta's response on ending impunity for high-level corruption was “entirely unsatisfactory”, while the response on strengthening the rule of law in Malta was “unsatisfactory overall, with mixed results”.