Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s refusal to quit office until mid-January continues to draw condemnation from Left MEPs in the European Parliament.

Tone deaf to the overwhelming calls demanding his immediate resignation, it is feared that the longer Muscat remains in office, the more the murder investigation of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia risks being compromised.

The plenary in Strasbourg today voted by a huge majority to call on the European Commission to start a rule of law dialogue with the Maltese government over the worrying situation there.

This all came following news that Muscat’s right hand man had initially been arrested in relation to the murder though has since been released.

Stelios Kouloglou MEP (SYRIZA, Greece), who was part of the European Parliament’s fact-finding mission to Malta earlier this month – which included a meeting with Muscat – said after the vote:

“Despite the political efforts to cover up the crime and thanks to the determination of the Maltese society and Daphne’s family, the truth is gradually coming to light.”

“As GUE/NGL group, we will continue to push for the political perpetrators to be brought to justice. Next spring, we will be hosting the ‘Journalists, Whistleblowers and Defenders of the Right to Information’ award for the third consecutive year – a prize that will continue to be named in honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” he said.