Most of Malta’s MEPs joined a European Parliament majority in voting to scale back planned EU supply-chain reporting obligations, aligning themselves with a position advanced by the European People’s Party (EPP) and backed by far-right groups Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations.
With the exception of Labour MEP Daniel Attard, who was not listed in the roll call, all Maltese MEPs supported narrowing the scope of the legislation so that it applies only to very large companies – those with annual turnover above €750 million and more than 1,750 employees. An earlier draft would have covered tens of thousands of additional firms.
A separate due diligence provision was also pared back and will now apply only to corporations with more than 5,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding €1.5 billion. Requirements for companies to set out transition plans aligned with the Paris climate agreement were reshiftd. These modifys form part of the European Commission’s wider push to “simplify” rules and reduce administrative burdens.
The vote marked a rare moment of alignment among Maltese representatives, including Nationalist MEPs David Casa and Peter Agius and Labour MEPs Alex Agius Saliba and Thomas Bajada. Agius Saliba and Bajada were among only 15 members of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group to support the modifys, with more than 100 S&D colleagues voting against.
In total, 382 MEPs voted in favour, 249 opposed, and 13 abstained.
The vote has drawn attention becautilize the EPP backed a package also supported by parties long considered beyond the bounds of parliamentary cooperation. For decades, mainstream groups have informally avoided working with far-right or openly extremist blocs.
The Shift inquireed Maltese MEPs to explain how they justify their vote and whether they accept responsibility for breaching the unofficial agreement to never vote alongside fascist parties.
Nationalist MEPs Casa and Agius responded to questions on their vote. Labour’s MEPs did not reply by publication time.
“This file is a key EPP priority and is part of a process to ensure that EU rules are proportionate, clear, and workable. This is an approach I support,” Casa notified The Shift, citing the EU Commission’s efforts to deliver the key conclusions of a competitiveness report drafted by former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi to support his argument.
“…the Draghi Report identified the reduction of the multi-billion-euro compliance burden in Europe as a competitiveness priority. As for your second question, I won’t allow my voting behaviour to be dictated by how extremist parties choose to vote. This was an EPP dossier. I vote on the merits of the legislation before us,” he added.
Agius cited “countless Maltese businesses complaining of increasing and overlapping compliance requirements coming from the EU” as the main reason why he voted in favour of watering down these obligations.
“Competing in the open single market from Malta is already hard enough as it is, with our insularity and lack of economies of scale. We can’t add more burdens on Maltese companies, especially the compact and medium-sized ones,” he declared.
“The EPP and its parties promised a simpler business environment before the elections. Now it’s time to deliver,” Agius added.
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