Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/655581
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 MARCH 2016 3 News Labour's third outing on Fenech Adami villa slams MP's 'hypocrisy' MATTHEW AGIUS THE Labour Party is driving fur- ther the line that PN deputy leader for party affairs Beppe Fenech Adami is guilty of "institutional- ised hypocrisy" over the manner in which his Gharghur villa was extended over and above planning limits. It was the third press confer- ence in three days by Minister Chris Cardona and the former PN mayor, now prospective Labour candidate, Ian Castaldi Paris, on the details concerning Fenech Ad- ami's villa in Gharghur: a property he purchased in 1994 which they claim has been developed outside the building zones and which ben- efited from a height extension that was against government policy. "Fenech Adami had protested against a university [sic] that was going to be built outside develop- ment zones [at Zonqor]," econo- my minister Chris Cardona said with reference to the campus to be built in Marsaskala. "However, he himself had developed his house on ODZ land." The PL's pressure on Fenech Ad- ami comes in the wake of damning allegations against energy minister Konrad Mizzi over his offshore company in Panama, which he opened in 2015. Castaldi Paris pressed on the alleged development irregulari- ties carried out in Beppe Fenech Adami's villa, describing the size of the deck and pool area as being "astronomically bigger... one and a half times the size of the new par- liament square" and asking MEPA to investigate and take action on the issue. Cardona said Fenech Adami was suffering from "institutionalised hypocrisy", a dig at the PN deputy leader's frequent criticism of the government's "institutionalised corruption" and challenged Op- position leader Simon Busuttil to take action against Fenech Adami, questioning whether Busuttil's failure to do so was a sign of weak- ness. "It is unacceptable for a deputy leader to breach the conditions of a MEPA permit. MEPA's respons- es are clear in that there were ir- regularities on Fenech Adami's property that couldn't be sanc- tioned." One News claimed this week that former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had personally requested MEPA to exclude Fenech Adami's villa from a prohibition on height extensions. The PN government had in 2006 controversially en- larged the development zones; one of its beneficiaries was Fenech Adami, whose villa was originally built in a green area and was in- cluded in the new enlarged zones. Fenech Adami has since sued One News for libel and accused them of propagating a lie. He de- nied that he had been given any form of preferential treatment for developing his house beyond its immediate limits, saying that the zoning of a neighbourhood ac- corded the same rights to every other property owner. The story is being referred to by Labour supporters as 'Beppe- Gate', a reaction to the scandal dubbed 'Panamagate' – the term coined for revelations that energy minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri own offshore companies in Panama. However Cardona was curt when parallels were drawn with the so- called Panamagate issue. When asked to clarify whether the government was implying that it was not acceptable for the PN's deputy leader to have extended a villa into an ODZ area on one hand but that on the other hand, it would be acceptable were the La- bour Party's deputy leader to have opened a company to stash funds in a tax haven, Cardona replied that it was incorrect to state that any funds had been hidden, an in- vestigation was underway. "The Prime Minister has already said that he will take a decision based on the results of that inves- tigation," Cardona said. Cardona dismissed as "a blast from the past" allegations that the MEPA application for Prime Min- ister Joseph Muscat's house had been approved in just one month in 1998, under a previous Labour administration. The planning pro- cedure in force at the time had been correctly followed, added Cardona. "There's nothing illegal there." Ian Castaldi Paris (left) with Minister Cardona – Beppe Fenech Adami 'is guilty of institutionalised hypocrisy' Court of Auditors' hearing: Abela meets Muscat Prime Minister told Abela won't pursue nomination after EP committee rejection CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Abela has admitted to party friends that his delivery was disappoint- ing. "He was shocked by the hostile attitude he felt within the committee. The patronising tone of one MEP who dismissed his vice-mayorship of Hamrun, as a small village of just 10,000 people, was a sore point." Abela's predecessors who took their seat before the European Parliament's inquisitors had their fair share of tough ques- tioning, although the govern- mental experience of people like Louis Galea, Tonio Borg, Joe Borg, John Dalli, Karmenu Vella, and Josef Bonnici – all former ministers – was a determining factor in overcoming the less pleasant parts of their political careers. Abela on the other hand, faced a highly-charged commit- tee that picked on his lack of policy experience and his politi- cal life both before and after the 2013 election, his work as a law- yer and as advisor to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, Green MEP Igor Soltes (Slovenia), vice-chairman of the European Parliament committee that turned down Toni Abela's candidacy for the European Court of Auditors, was reported in The Times to have urged Abela to withdraw his nomination. Under the EU treaty, member state governments in the Eu- ropean Council appoint audi- tor nominees after "consulting" Parliament. This means that a vote in the plenary could still pull Abela through, but Soltes has declared he would tell MEPs not to vote in favour of Abela's nomination. "If he respects himself, and I am sure he does, Dr Abela should withdraw his nomination. He can go ahead if he chooses to and face the plenary's vote but he has already promised in writing that he will respect the European Parliament's opinion." The less orthodox route would be for Malta to press ahead in the Council of Ministers to over- rule the MEPs' vote, if they were to refuse Abela. While it is cer- tainly rare for the EU Council to overrule the Parliament's opin- ion, it is not unprecedented. Neven Mates, who served as the Croatian representative on the Court of Auditors since 2013, was originally rejected both by the MEPs on the budg- etary control committee – as Abela was – and then by MEPs in the plenary vote. However, the European Council neverthe- less endorsed his nomination a month after the plenary vote. As is typical for nominees, Mates had originally indicated to the budgetary control com- mittee that he would withdraw his candidacy if MEPs rejected it. The EU Council's move had frustrated MEPs, and Michael Theurer – the German head of the budgetary control commit- tee – criticised it as "a sign of disrespect to the European Par- liament". Committee vice-chairman Igor Soltes warned he would tell the EP that Abela should not be made Auditor if he pursued with his candidacy