BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament is sending a delegation to Malta to investigate how the government there tackles corruption, ratcheting up pressure on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat following the slaying of a Maltese investigative journalist.

Top Liberal EU lawmaker Guy Verhofstadt said of Malta on Thursday: "Corruption seems to be widespread and has become a profitable business model."

Verhofstadt says the delegation will examine how "the rule of law is applied, what steps are taken against corruption and how money laundering is tackled."

Veteran journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia specialized in investigating corruption in Malta before a car bomb killed her on Oct. 16. She angered politicians and the police with her exposes.

EU lawmakers applauded her three sons when they appeared in Parliament on Wednesday. They have called on Muscat to resign.