A former Italian minister has resigned as consultant to the French prime minister after it was revealed that he was also a consultant to Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Former Italian minister Sandro Gozi came under scrutiny in France after his dual role was revealed by Times of Malta and Le Monde on Monday.
Mr Gozi confirmed his resignation in a tweet after it was first reported by AFP news agency. He said he was stepping down to avoid political exploitation. He also issued a lengthy statement on Facebook.
Da lunedì sono nuovamente oggetto di rivelazioni stampa.
— Sandro Gozi (@sandrogozi) October 23, 2019
Per evitare ogni strumentalizzazione politica ho deciso di dimettermi da incaricato di missione presso il Primo Ministro della Francia.
Dichiarazione completa:https://t.co/qAFaWLC1KZ
Gozi was handed a three-year contract as a Europe advisor on a position of trust basis by Dr Muscat in June 2018.
A year later, Mr Gozi took up a similar advisory role on European matters with French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe's office.
L'ancien secrétaire d'État italien devenu conseiller d'Édouard Philippe, Sandro Gozi, a annoncé aujourd'hui dans un courrier transmis à l'#AFP sa démission, après avoir été soupçonné d'avoir collaboré avec le gouvernement maltais tout en étant à Matignon #AFP
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) October 23, 2019
Mr Philippe faced questions in the French parliament on Tuesday about Mr Gozi’s contract with the Maltese government.
The French Prime Minister told parliament that Mr Gozi had not indicated employment with any other entities, let alone another government, when he was hired on July 30.
Mr Philippe said Mr Gozi has been told to immediately submit documentation showing he was no longer working for the Maltese government when he was hired in July.
OPM had confirmed Malta role
Malta’s Office of the Prime Minister and Mr Gozi acknowledged his current role as Dr Muscat’s consultant when initially questioned by Times of Malta and Le Monde last week.
"Former Italian under-secretary for European Affairs Sandro Gozi is serving as a consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister in Malta in a similar role to the one he has held, and holds, with governments and European organisations, that is to advice on all European Union institutions and priorities", the head of government communications told Times of Malta on Thursday.
No announcement was ever made in Malta about Mr Gozi's appointment, and his role.
On Sunday night, Mr Gozi started to distance himself from his Malta consultancy role, insisting he had notified Dr Muscat that he would be taking up a seat in the European Parliament once Brexit takes place, and would therefore not be able to continue advising the Prime Minister.
“Therefore, I fully understand should you wish to terminate my contract due to my election, I would accept 12 months wages as the termination package as per clause 14 of the agreement.
“In order to not leave any loose ends and since I will not take up my seat in the EP until Brexit, I propose we consider our agreement terminated as of today but I will continue to provide you with advice until July 30, to ensure a neat closure of my contract”, Mr Gozi said in the letter, dated May 29.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister did not reply to questions about whether Mr Gozi’s letter was in fact received by Dr Muscat in May.
The spokesman also did not reply to a request for a copy of any acknowledgment letter the Prime Minister sent Mr Gozi in response to his letter.
Dr Muscat’s spokesman said it “stands to reason” that both sides agreed to phase out Mr Gozi’s advisory role by concluding commitments which commenced before the European Parliament elections.