This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Published on December 6, 2019, the European Union had urged Malta to strengthen its judiciary's independence, combat aggressive tax planning, and curb corruption and money laundering in July.
Three men are facing trial for the 2017 car bomb attack that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, a mother of three and a journalist known for exposing cronyism and sleaze within Malta's elite.
However, questions remain over who ordered the hit, and critics have accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of obstructing justice to protect his chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Didier Reynders, the European Union's justice commissioner, met with a European Parliament delegation in Malta to review the situation on the ground and expressed concern over the botched investigation.
"There is a very big concern about what has happened in Malta," Reynders said, calling for a "thorough, transparent and independent" investigation into the murder.
Reynders also stated that the EU would check progress in February and emphasized the need for reforms to restore confidence in Maltese justice.
