Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526409
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2024 Drop the hypocrisy and practice transparency Editorial THE president of the European Parliament should have never been exempt from new transparen- cy rules for MEPs introduced after the Qatargate scandal. The lacuna in the rules, which were approved by the European Parliament, was exposed by Brussels-based news portal Politico last week. Roberta Metsola is under no obligation to de- clare any potential conflict of interest she or her partner may have. In her case, the issue becomes more pertinent because her husband, Ukko Met- sola, is a registered lobbyist for Royal Caribbean, one of the largest cruise ship companies. Now, the Metsolas cannot be faulted for be- ing married. It is also true that Ukko has been a registered lobbyist with the EU since 2016, well before his wife became president. Additionally, Roberta could not breach the rules because they did not apply to her in the first place. Politico's expose attributed no wrongdoing to Roberta but pointed out the obvious: In politics, it is the optics of things that count and not just whether there has been actual wrongdoing. And the optics in this case are all wrong. Roberta may argue that she was not the one to propose the rules and approve them – they were drafted by a parliamentary committee and ap- proved by MEPs. But such a response is nothing more than a naïve attempt to hide the inherent hypocrisy of the situation. Even if the transparency rules exempted her, there was nothing that barred Roberta from taking her own initiative to declare potential conflicts of interest. Once again, given who her husband is and the strong commercial interests he represents, she should have taken a proactive approach. As things stand today, nobody can be faulted for believing that her statements on transparency when the Qatargate scandal rocked the European Parliament were nothing more than grandstand- ing. There is no logic in having transparency rules for MEPs but not for the EP President. To make matters worse, Roberta recently ap- pointed her brother-in-law as chef de cabinet. She had already tried doing so in 2022 but re- lented after MEPs pushed back in the wake of the Qatargate scandal. Now, having been returned with a solid mandate for a second term, Roberta did not think twice to go down the road of nep- otism. It is true that her brother-in-law has been in Roberta's team for many years but once again, in politics it is the optics that count. What ordinary people can see is an EU parliament president who chose to give her brother-in-law a lucrative promotion. There is no difference between Roberta's be- haviour and that of certain Maltese ministers who had their spouses appointed to public posts by fellow Cabinet members. And before Roberta's PR machine goes into overdrive trying to convince doubters in Malta about her good intentions and admirable deci- sions, it must understand that the EP president is not above reproach. But beyond Roberta's indiscretions there is a much wider argument to be made on the hypoc- risy of Nationalist and Labour politicians. No PN MP or functionary has even mildly crit- icised Roberta for failing to be proactive and de- clare her conflict of interest; or for appointing a relative to such an important role. The attitude is markedly different from those instances when Labour MPs and ministers breach ethical stand- ards or are caught employing relatives in public posts. For PN exponents, what's good for the goose is not good for the gander, it seems. But it is also hypocritical of Labour MEPs, MPs and ministers to try and make hay out of Rober- ta's predicament. It is as if they have just discov- ered the value of transparency. If MEPs Daniel Attard and Alex Agius Sali- ba dedicated an ounce of the energy they spent on criticising Roberta Metsola to convince their own Labour government to introduce a transpar- ency register, their efforts would be more than commendable. But no. To them, Roberta's mis- demeanour is just an occasion to hit out at the Opposition. Former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer is right when he says Malta's Labour administration should take the lead and introduce a lobby and transparency register, instead of simply taking to task the European Parliament president over her apparent conflicts of interest. It was former standards commissioner George Hyzler who drafted a proposal for the regulation of lobbying and the creation of a transparency register in 2020. But his recommendation went unheeded and four years later the transparency register remains a figment of political imagina- tion. Politicians should drop the hypocrisy and start practicing genuine transparency. Only then will we appreciate their outrage over a political rival's indiscretions. Quote of the Week "Let's move past hypocrisy and start practicing genuine transparency – I won't hold my breath though." Former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer calling on the government and Opposition to set an example by starting a transparency register themselves if they are serious about governance. MaltaToday 10 years ago 7 September 2014 Romanian escort claims she was forced into prostitution A Romanian escort who had raunchy pho- tos of hers uploaded on an escort website offering "a wide range of sexual services" in Malta yesterday claimed in court that she was threatened and coerced into prostitution. The remark was made during the arraign- ment of 25-year-old Romanian Alexandru On- ofrei yesterday afternoon. Onofrei is pleading not guilty to living off the earnings of prostitution, to running a brothel, to trafficking Pilaf Anisoara, and to prostituting and holding Pilaf Anisoara and Mariaca Dares- co against their will. Taking the witness stand, Pilaf Anisoara, told the court that on 28 August, she and her 15-year-old daughter had arrived in Malta, and started living at the accused's home in Qormi. The witness also explained that she intended on staying in Malta for a couple of weeks and until her daughter could go to school in Italy. Asked how she was supporting herself and her daughter, the witness was initially embar- rassed to disclose details when she was asked how she intended to finance her daughter's education. However, she eventually said that she would "provide sexual services at an apart- ment in San Gwann". The Romanian escort said that clients used to phone her up after viewing her profile on Escort-Europe.com – a website which offers escort services in Malta and provides quotes, times and options for various sexual services for potential clients. "Alex [the accused] created this account. He uploaded pictures of me in my underwear, and in turn clients used to phone me and I used to offer sexual services," she said while adding that the accused would then drive her to the apartment. ...