The matter is set to escalate – and all because Muscat is desperate to protect his crooked involvement with Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri

Igor Soltes, the permanent rapporteur for the European Court of Auditors, has said that if the European Council ignores the European Parliament’s unequivocal decision against Leo Brincat, “this will lead to problems with cooperation in the future”.

Soltes told The Malta Independent: “A similar situation happened in the past, when two candidates did not get majority approval in the European Parliament, and in the end the Council approved the nomination. This is why, in the questionnaire sent to nominees, we asked whether candidates would withdraw their nomination following EP rejection. The previous candidate from Malta [Toni Abela], following his rejection, announced that he would be withdrawing his candidacy on the basis of dignity and honour.

“I think this decision is certainly up to each candidate. Whatever a candidate decides to do after being rejected, this certainly conveys their particular understanding of the role of the European Parliament. If somebody does not get the majority, the question arises of how fair it is to go forward with the nomination before the Council.

“Every nominee has a right to take that decision, however ultimately it is the people who will assess whether this is OK or not.”