EP President ‘will speak on Panama when inquiry over’

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani has insisted that he will only speak about the Panama Papers scandal after an official inquiry into the matter is concluded.

Last year Mr Tajani, who was then vice-president of the European People’s Party, questioned what was going on in Malta after revelations that former energy minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, had opened secret companies in Panama.

“What is going on in Malta? The socialist government is in difficulty over the Panama Papers scandal,” Mr Tajani said last April.

Mr Tajani now says that it is not within his remit to get into such matters.

Asked if he was still concerned about the situation in Malta, Mr Tajani said he was now the EP President and therefore had to remain neutral.

“My personal position is my personal position,” he explained.

Asked if his personal position on Malta had remained the same, Mr Tajani again drew a distinction between his personal opinion and official role.

“My personal position is my personal position. I do not change ideas every few days. I promised I would be neutral. This needed to change. We need a speaker and not a prime minister [in the...