Abela to nominate his former chief of staff Glenn Micallef for European Commissioner
Prime Minister Robert Abela has announced that he will be nominating his former chief of staff Glenn Micallef as Malta’s next European Commissioner.Abela was being interviewed by Newsbook editor-in-chief Matthew Xuereb when he made the announce
Prime Minister Robert Abela has announced that he will be nominating his former chief of staff Glenn Micallef as Malta’s next European Commissioner.
Abela was being interviewed by Newsbook editor-in-chief Matthew Xuereb when he made the announcement.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne had been Abela’s first choice, but he asked for his nomination to be withdrawn after he was charged in connection with the hospitals concession case.
Abela had been holding out hope that Fearne would be cleared of the charges at prima facie stage, but a court decreed on Wednesday that the case against him can continue, meaning that Fearne’s nomination was dead in the water.
Micallef, who resigned as Abela’s chief of staff a month ago, has been chosen in his stead.
“He is a technocratic person, and in these past four years I have seen his competence on a European level. He was there when our country negotiated the biggest package in the multi-annual financial framework in 2020,” Abela said as he spoke of Micallef’s strengths.
“He has served as my Sherpa throughout these four years, and he has political experience as he served as the Chief of my Secretariat,” the Prime Minister added.
He said that he has seen how Micallef operates on a European level, where he has a particular expertise even before he came into a political life as he led the country’s secretariat for the European Union.
“Maybe the question should be, why is it not a member of the Cabinet? I am lucky to have a Cabinet full of talent and experience, and I believed that it would be a mistake to remove main elements of the Cabinet in a moment where the country is in need of great concentration and focus on the work we are doing,” Abela said.
It is the first time that Malta has nominated a person with no political background: Micallef will be succeeding Helena Dalli, who served as a minister for several years before she was nominated. Previous European Commissioners Karmenu Vella, Tonio Borg, Joe Borg, and the disgraced John Dalli all had Cabinet experience prior to being nominated.
“I believe that he has a lot to contribute in the European Commission,” Abela said.
Asked whether he was worried that Micallef’s lack of political experience may hinder Malta from getting a significant portfolio within the Commission, particular as Cyprus are already lobbying to have their nominee appoints for the Commissioner for the Mediterranean position, Abela said that he had already begun his own lobbying with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
“Micallef has Cabinet experience that goes back four years. He attended the Cabinet regularly, every week, he participated in decisions. He has direct political experience,” Abela said.
Micallef is an economist by qualification, and served as the Director General of Malta’s EU Coordination Department and advisor to the Prime Minister on EU Affairs before he was appointed as Abela’s chief of staff in 2020.
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