Malta holds 0.13 % of the EU population. Its government supports mandatory scanning of private messages, or the widest scanning scope in Council, since 17 Jun 2026.
Supports Last checked 22 October 2026
What the government has said
“Malta, like France, wants detection to cover known material, new material and grooming.”Council counsellors' meeting, 17 June 2026, as recorded in the German cable
Receipt: Council minutes, 17 Jun 2026 (scope: known and new material and grooming), via netzpolitik.org
No public national statement found. Supported the voluntary-only mandate and, in June 2026, a positive reservation on the detection compromise.
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 6 MEPs elected in Malta, 3 voted to reject it, 2 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 1 did not vote.
- 3 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 2 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in Malta
- Minister
- Glenn Bedingfield, Minister for Home Affairs and Security in the cabinet sworn in on 4 Jun 2026 after the 2026 election. Malta’s line is known only from Council minutes. Justice Minister Clifton Grima
- Ministry in charge
- Ministry for Home Affairs and Security; Ministry for Justice, Research and Innovation
- Permanent representation
- Neil Kerr, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Christopher Farrugia, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
Timeline
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Malta: yes.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Malta: 3 for rejection, 2 against, 0 abstained, 1 did not vote. source
- Recorded as supports. Receipt: Council minutes, 17 Jun 2026 (scope: known and new material and grooming), via netzpolitik.org source
- A new cabinet is sworn in after the 2026 election; Glenn Bedingfield becomes Minister for Home Affairs and Security. source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Malta: yes.
Sources
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “Malta: position on Chat Control”, last checked 22 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/malta/
