Dalli trying to ‘shackle me’ Bondì tells Barroso

Broadcaster Lou Bondì has written to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso complaining that Commissioner John Dalli’s behaviour may not conform with his remit as EU Commissioner.

Mr Bondì asked Mr Barroso to take cognisance of the matter and to take whatever actions he saw fit, following a complaint Mr Dalli made to the Broadcasting Authority over part of Mr Bondì’s TV programme last week.

When asked for a reaction a spokesman for Mr Dalli said: “The commissioner has no further comment to add on this.”

Mr Bondì told Mr Barroso all he had done was ask a question to the Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier regarding possible political contact between Mr Dalli and National MP Franco Debono.

Journalistically, the question was perfectly legitimate, Mr Bondì said. Subsequently, Mr Dalli requested the authority to take action against him.

He also claimed Mr Dalli had made a number of slanderous, false and unjust statements about him as a journalist.

“I wish to draw your attention to the fact that Commissioner Dalli has made similar false claims about me in the media on a number of other occasions.

“I have denied them all in the strongest terms.

“All my invitations to him to substantiate them in a court of law have been turned down,” he said in his letter.

“The behaviour of... your commissioner, is completely and utterly unacceptable,” Mr Bondì said.

“The European Union is synonymous with free speech and the zealous protection of journalists’ rights. Commissioner Dalli’s illegitimate attempt to shackle me in the exercise of my profession clearly violates these fundamental principles.”