Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/773562
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 8 APART from being an occasion to strengthen his international standing – a task in which he revels – Malta's EU Presidency is for Joseph Muscat an occa- sion to wash away his party's eurosceptic past and to reha- bilitate the disgraced Konrad Mizzi in his role as de facto Energy Minister representing Malta in council meetings on this subject. For Europhile Si- mon Busuttil the EU Presidency is serving as an occasion to keep Konrad Mizzi in the interna- tional radar and dispel a percep- tion that he is too deferential to EU institutions In a perfect case study of his- torical irony, the Labour gov- ernment is using Malta's EU Presidency as one big choreo- graphed marketing campaign aimed at switchers and Nation- alist voters. This is being done by striking an inclusive pitch, which completes Labour's con- version from a eurosceptic party (as was the case till 14 years ago) to a forward-looking pro-EU party. On the other hand while ad- dressing the College of Europe- an Commissioners in the Mal- tese parliament on Wednesday, Simon Busuttil has exorcised his perceived deference towards EU institutions by standing up to EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, scolding his silence on Muscat's decision to retain Konrad Mizzi – the only EU minister mentioned in the Panama papers – in his cabi- net, thus underlining his party's willingness to challenge and confront EU institutions head on whenever necessary. It is obvious that Simon Bu- suttil, who is well versed in EU protocol, knew that Juncker would never chastise Muscat over his failure to sack Mizzi. Had Juncker expressed any view on the matter he would have opened a can of worms by set- ting a precedent for other cases of corruption and inappropriate fiscal behaviour by ministers in any of the 28 member states. EU treaties simply do not regulate corruption and ethics in gov- ernment. As Juncker correctly replied, subsidiarity – a pillar of the EU's present architecture – prevents him from commenting on the internal matters of mem- ber states. Moreover Jean Claude Junck- er's moral authority on fiscal ethics is weakened by leaked documents showing that he has spent years in his previous role as Luxembourg's prime minis- ter secretly blocking EU efforts to tackle tax avoidance by mul- tinational corporations. One may argue that represent- atives of EU institutions should at least distance themselves from Mizzi by not engaging with him. The reason being that Panamagate is not just a normal localised corruption scandal but also one which has exposed those involved to international scrutiny. For by accepting Mizzi in its institutional fold, the EU is sending a strong message that opening a secret account in Panama does not warrant exclusion from the EU decision- making process. And this is exactly Muscat's game: by choosing Konrad Mizzi to chair the EU's Energy Council during Malta's six- month rotating presidency, he wants to give Mizzi a sheen of respectability. The reality is that EU Presidency Joseph's Simon's There are a number of historical ironies in the pitch adopted by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as Malta started its six- month term of the rotating EU Presidency, a year before general elections JAMES DEBONO