The European Commission seems ready to accept that “significant corruption” and the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is the price to pay for a new gas pipeline linking Malta and Sicily that could receive EU funds, according to Caruana Galizia’s son.
In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, Matthew Caruana Galizia, Director of the Daphne Foundation, argued that the Commission’s attitude to the project leaves a lot to be desired.
“The murder is provably and unequivocally linked to this gas pipeline project because the only client of the pipeline is Electrogas. We have said over and over again that is what the motive of the murder appears to be,” he said.
“The position of the Commission seems to simply be a carbon copy of the position of the [Maltese] energy minister, which is that the corruption happened, it’s a bad thing. But it’s just the price that we have to pay for this gas pipeline.”
The ‘Melita’ pipeline project, which will funnel gas between Sicily and Malta, has now been included on an EU list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which could see it receive EU funds towards the €400 million price tag.
Electrogas will be the sole client of the pipeline and is in a consortium including SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state-owned gas company, and Tumas Group, which is part-owned by Yorgen Fenech, the man awaiting trial for conspiracy in the journalists’ murder.
The Commission, Caruana Galizia added, appears to be saying that “all of this is very unfortunate, but we need to put it aside so we can steamroll ahead with this pipeline”.
Asked by EURACTIV about the possible funding, a European Commission spokesperson said they had not had any contact with Electrogas and the pipeline has already received funding to carry out preparatory studies.
“Malta needs to end its energy isolation through integration into the trans-European gas network,” the spokesperson stressed.
According to Matthew Caruana Galizia, this failure to address the project’s links to the murder, and well-documented corruption, including alleged kickbacks to Maltese government officials, should raise questions over the project’s legitimacy.
Family of murdered journalist ask EU not to fund gas pipeline linked to suspect
The family of murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galiza, as well as several EU lawmakers, has called on the EU not to fund a gas pipeline project between Malta and Sicily that will link to a power station part-owned by the man on trial for her killing.
“There’s been a murder in the deal that led to this project, and that should make us question the entire legitimacy of the project and whether it is even needed. Because if corruption and murder were needed to convert Malta’s energy sector to gas… the public needs to question its legitimacy,” he said.
Some have also tried to justify the project by saying the pipeline could be used for hydrogen in the future. But Matthew Caruana Galizia disagrees.
“Every single environmental NGO, every single environmental activist, every single scientist who knows anything about hydrogen in energy, said this is impossible as hydrogen is efficient as a vector for energy, not a source of energy.”
“It doesn’t matter whether the pipeline transfers hydrogen or gas or even if the project is a wind power project or a similar project, it’s almost irrelevant because the fact is that there has been massive corruption.”
He then said the Maltese government took a “bullying tone” towards his family, accusing them of being “over-emotional” over the issue, with the Chamber of Commerce merely echoing statements from the country’s energy ministry.
The fact that Malta is so invested in this deal is inexplicable, he added.
The Electrogas deal saw Fenech take ownership of a shell company called 17 Black that was set to pay hundreds of thousands of euros a month to the then energy minister Konrad Mizzi and former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri – both of whom were involved in brokering the agreement.
Caruana Galizia said he has not decided “whether the EU is in paralysis because it is in paralysis on the issue and many others related to corruption because it doesn’t have the tools… or whether it is a deliberate choice.”
“The Commission needs something from Malta, other member states need something from Malta, and they are willing to give this [the green light to a controversial project] to take something,” he added.
If it is the latter, Caruana Galizia said the EU appears willing to turn a blind eye to corruption to smooth diplomatic processes.
Caruana Galizia also noted that the possible investment of EU money in the gas pipeline would detract from better energy solutions for the country.
“The gas will come from Azerbaijan; it’s coming from SOCAR. With the pipeline, we become hooked on gas for the rest of our lives, and there is no way to get ourselves out of it. We will have spent our entire energy budget for our lifetimes on gas, and there will be no money left to spend on anything else.”
Furthermore, he said, “whatever money goes towards corruption, whatever money goes to fossil fuels…it is money taken away from innovative projects”.
Negotiations on the revision of the TEN-E regulation ended on 14 December, and their outcome will impact the possibility of EU funds being used for the project. EU lawmakers will then vote on the fifth PCI list, including the Melita project, in early 2022.
Asked how this situation makes him feel on a personal level, he said: “It makes me feel like the entire government, extending right into the European Commission, is not serving the public interest and is rather serving massive private and corporate interests”.
“This really has to end”.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
Source: euractiv.com
