Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526771
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 18 SEPTEMBER 2024 • ISSUE 909 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL • PAGE 11 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Edward Zammit Lewis is Malta's choice for European judge Glenn Micallef handed commissioner portfolio with little relevance at EU level MALTA was given one of the least cru- cial portfolios of the European Com- mission in the new team announced by president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. Glenn Micallef, 35, will be appointed Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport, areas that have little clout at EU level. The portfolio is a sliver of what it used to be in the outgoing commission when education, research and innovation were also included. The responsibility for education was hived off to vice-pres- ident Roxana Mînzatu of Romania, whilst research and innovation went to Ekaterina Zaharieva of Bulgaria. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Robert Abela dismissed suggestions that Malta was handed a weak portfolio, insisting instead that it is "one of the strongest". Doorstepped by the media following a special Cabinet meeting held at Dar San Ġużepp in Santa Venera, Abela insisted that Micallef's nomination was inspired by his faith in the abilities of young peo- ple. The new portfolio for the Mediter- ranean, a Maltese proposal and which Robert Abela had been lobbying for, was handed to the Croatian nominee. But Abela was again dismissive, insist- ing the Mediterranean was not more in- fluential than the portfolio Micallef was handed. The Prime Minister said that if he were free to choose the portfolio given to the Maltese Commissioner, it would very much look like the one handed to Micallef. Brussels-based news portal, Politico, de- scribed Glenn Micallef as one of the "los- ers" in Von der Leyen's new team because of the little relevance his portfolio enjoys at EU level. PAGE 3 Malta's European Commissioner- designate Glenn Micallef is handed portfolio for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport • Prime Minister insists this is 'one of the strongest portfolios' EDWARD Zammit Lewis is Malta's nominee for European judge and will ap- pear in front of a judicial advisory panel in Luxembourg, a senior government source has confirmed. The Labour MP will be interviewed by the Comite 255, a seven-member panel that evaluates the suitability of candidates for judge and advocate-general of the EU courts. The grilling behind closed doors is ex- pected to take place on 11 October and if the panel gives a favourable opinion, Zammit Lewis will be appointed judge on the General Court of the EU. PAGE 4 Factories in Kirkop could double in height, PA proposal suggests PAGE 9 MATTHEW VELLA & MATTHEW FARRUGIA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Malta's European Commissioner- designate Glenn Micallef