“Let there be no thieves where our lives are decided”

On Tuesday, 21 October 2025, MEP Irena Joveva took part in a plenary debate on the slow judiciary and the decline of the rule of law in Malta eight years after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. She strongly condemned the Maltese government and the competent institutions for not having served justice despite the high profile of her murder.

”There are fraudsters everywhere you look,” Joveva began by recalling the words of the late Daphne Caruana Galizia, emphasizing that these words unfortunately still describe the situation in Malta today.

According to Joveva, the late Daphne embodied the fundamental values ​​of democracy with her journalistic work, and it was for them that she ultimately paid the highest price:

”She spoke the truth, exposed corruption, demanded accountability. Everything that should be taken for granted in a democracy.”

But despite the resonance of her work and her equally resonant murder, justice has still not been served.

”Those who pulled the trigger are in prison. Those who gave the order are at large. And those who obstructed the investigation are still in their positions.”

In doing so, the MEP criticized the Maltese government for preferring to remove flowers from the memorial site of the murdered journalist instead of ensuring justice and protecting media freedom.

Joveva continued by drawing attention to the findings of the competent institutions, which indicate a complete lack of progress in reforms. As she pointed out, no corruption case in Malta has so far ended with a final conviction, while journalists continue to work in a hostile and dangerous environment. At the same time, she explained that this is not just a Maltese, but a pan-European problem, as the entire Union suffers without accountability.

In conclusion, MEP Joveva expressed her belief that it is high time for real measures and changes to the situation, which Daphne had also warned about all her life:

”Let there be no thieves where our lives are decided.”

EP/Alain ROLLAND