Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521709
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2024 NEWS PN has not submitted its financial CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In Malta, parties only need to declare the source of a donation if it exceeds €7,000. But when looking at the data since the last European election, only three donations exceeding this amount were declared by the Labour Party and Nationalist Party. These donations included an almost €15,000 donation made by Opposition leader Bernard Grech to his own party, and two donations of €10,000 each to the Labour Party by Schembri & Sons Ltd and Pavi Supermarkets. MaltaToday previously reported on Pa- vi's €10,000 donation to the Labour Party. However, the company went on to issue a statement saying they made a donation of the same amount to the Nationalist Party. Despite few donations exceeding €7,000, both parties have collected serious cash donations over the years. Between 2019 and 2022, the Labour Party collected over €6 million in donations, with only €20,000 of that amount actually accounted for. The Nationalist Party has been less scru- pulous with their financial reports. Indeed, the party has not submitted their financial accounts in three years. But during 2019 and 2020, the party received over €2.6 mil- lion. Maltese law defines a donation as any benefit received to support the activities or functions of a political party. This in- cludes benefits received by the party itself, its members, candidates, or any affiliated organisation controlled by the party. Donations can take the form of gifts of money or other property, sponsorships, money spent by donors on expenses for the party, its members, or candidates, loans giv- en on terms more favourable than standard commercial terms at the time and property or services provided at below market value or on non-commercial terms. However, inherited property or voluntary and unpaid work are not considered dona- tions. Despite the wide definition at law, no political parties have reported any in-kind donations in their financial reports. PN's missing reports The Nationalist Party, to which EP pres- ident Roberta Metsola belongs, has not been complying with relevant laws since 2020. When elected, Bernard Grech promised that he would "be making proposals in parliament on reforms to the law on par- ty financing to introduce more safeguards to prevent parties from falling prey to big business." Instead, the party never published its ac- counts ever since. Indeed, the Nationalist Party ignored five requests by the Electoral Commission to publish its accounts for 2021 and 2022, ac- cording to the commission's reply to a ju- dicial protest filed in court earlier this year. The judicial protest was filed by Labour MEP candidates Daniel Attard and Marija Sara Vella Gafa asking that the PN regular- ise its position at law. The commission said it asked the PN to file the necessary documents as required at law in letters dated 18 January 2022, 6 April 2022, 12 January 2023, 10 April 2023 and 14 June 2023. In its court reply, the commission said its powers to sanction political parties that fall foul of the law have been curtailed by a constitutional court ruling from 2018. The court ruled back then that the commission could not act as investigator, judge and jury on political party financing investiga- tions since this breached the right to a fair trial. Since then, the commission has been powerless in enforcing the law and will re- main so unless parliament makes the nec- essary legal amendments. So far, no chang- es are being prospected. In a comment to MaltaToday, the La- bour Party said all necessary donation de- tails are included in its financial reports. "The Electoral Commission scrutinises our audited financial accounts in accord- ance with the provisions of the law on par- ty financing. Conversely, the Nationalist Party is contesting the upcoming elections of the 8th of June, which are administered by the Electoral Commission, asking peo- ple for their support while in breach fo the commission's law on party financing." Nationalist Party fundraising event