No agreement on Richard Cachia Caruana grilling

The European and Foreign Affairs committee presided by government MP Francis Zammit Dimech saw both sides of the House involved in a heated debate over the Opposition's motion calling for the resignation of  Richard Cachia Caruana resignation, following his 'behind-the-scenes' role in bringing Malta into Nato's Partnership for Peace in 2008 and bypassing the parliamentary procedure for this decision.

The meeting was adjourned to another day after the Opposition asked for a ruling by Speaker of the House Michael Frendo. The Opposition whip, who does not sit on the committee but has an institutional right to participate in Parliamentary committee meetings without having a right to vote, intervened after the two sides could not come to an agreement on how the committee should debate the Opposition's motion.

Foreign Minister Tonio Borg informed the committee that the government side wants to invite a list of 21 witnesses to give evidence before the committee. The list includes Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, former Nato Secretary General Javier Solana and two former US ambassadors to Malta.

Borg insisted that the prime minister should be the first to give evidence, in order to explain the context of the PfP membership and also to explain how Malta's representatives used to be asked to leave meetings when Nato documents were discussed.

However the Opposition insisted that Cachia Caruana should be the first to give evidence. While the Opposition did not oppose the list of witnesses, former Labour foreign minister George Vella pointed out that Cachia Caruana should be the first to appear before the committee because the motion is calling for his resignation. He added that other witnesses shall give evidence "in due time".

After a lengthy and heated exchange between Borg and the Opposition members over this matter, Borg proposed that the committee should be adjourned to tomorrow. At that point Zammit Dimech said the matter should be put to the vote.

Vella agreed, as long as the vote is taken in the main Chamber and not in the committee. As both sides could not reach an agreement, Labour whip Joe Mizzi intervened and said he would request a ruling from the Speaker.

The fiery debate was carried over to the Chamber, with Mizzi insisting that the committee had no right to take a vote.

The Speaker, Michael Frendo, who is included in the list of witnesses propsed by the government, said he would give a ruling at another sitting. The committee was then adjourned pending the ruling of the Speaker.

Borg took the lead in a similar fashion to the House Business Committee meeting which discussed the Parliament's agenda two weeks ago. Then Borg had led the discussion instead of the leader of the house, Carm Mifsud Bonnici, who was the subject of one of the Opposition's motions discussed by the committee. Once again Borg did all the talking with the other five government MPs remaining silent throughout the meeting.

Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami and his colleagues even had time to leaf through a magazine while Tonio Borg was single-handidley spearheading the government's attempt to avoid Cachia Caruana being grilled by the committee at the earliest stage possible.

Opposition MP Leo Brincat accused Borg of hijacking the meeting and having a conflict of interest as foreign minister, saying Borg was only present to defend Cachia Caruana. He added "this is an act of intolerable gate-keeping to defend Mr Untouchable as had happened in the Dar Malta fiasco."

Another committee member representing the Opposition, Owen Bonnici said Borg represents the executive while the committee's function is to scrutinise the executive, so the minister's presence represented a conflict of interest.

At one point Nationalist MP Franco Debono, who in the past has been critical of Cachia Caruana, was seen walking by the room where the committee meeting was being held and was overheard asking whether Malta's representative to the EU was present.