Council of Europe blasts ‘unsatisfactory’ response to rule of law demands

Updated 8.30pm, adds government statement
Malta’s implementation of recommendations by the Council of Europe to ensure  justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia and bolster the rule of law were deemed “unsatisfactory” on Tuesday. 
The assessment was made by the Council’s legal affairs committee, endorsing a report by its rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt as his mandate comes to an end. 
In a statement later in the evening (see below), the government said that the resolution failed to provide a clear picture of all the work that has been undertaken.
In a resolution adopted 18 months ago, the Council’s assembly had made a series of recommendations to the Maltese authorities on achieving justice for the slain journalist and ending impunity for high-level corruption. 

But the committee said implementation of the recommendations on ensuring justice for Caruana Galizia remain “fundamentally unsatisfactory, with no final results”.
The response on ending impunity for high-level corruption was “entirely unsatisfactory”, while the response on strengthening the rule of law in Malta was “unsatisfactory overall, with mixed results”.

In his report, Omtzigt reviewed recent developments in the...