European Parliament to look at Dalli accusations
Europe wants more details
The European Parliament is taking the resignation of John Dalli “very seriously” and wants to look deeply into the issue, the Parliament’s President Martin Schultz said last night.
“On behalf of my colleagues in the Conference of Presidents, I have asked European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to give us more details and further information about the reasons for the resignation of Mr Dalli and analyses of the accusations made by OLAF,” he told The Times.
The Conference of Presidents is the highest institution of the EP and includes the Presidents of all the Parliamentary Groups represented in the Brussels chamber. OLAF is the EU’s anti-fraud agency.
Mr Dalli resigned as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy after the agency concluded he knew of an attempt by a Maltese businessman, using his contact with Mr Dalli, to gain financial benefit from a Swedish tobacco producer. This was in exchange for influence over a legislative proposal on a smokeless tobacco product called snus.
Both Mr Dalli and Mr Zammit have denied these allegations.
European Parliament sources said several MEPs were putting pressure on the Commission to reveal the details of OLAF’s report, even though this was not normal procedure.
The report contains the precise allegations against Mr Dalli and the evidence that OLAF gathered to prove its case.
The Parliament itself has been tainted in the past by MEPs being found guilty of trying to influence EU laws in exchange for cash offered through lobbyists. Some MEPs were forced to resign over such issues.
Asked whether he agreed with the suggestion made by the President of the Socialist
Group, Hannes Swoboda, that Malta should wait for the next general election before replacing Mr Dalli, Mr Schultz, said he was not sure if this could be done.
“I have to check whether this is legally admissible,” he said. “Until 2014 every country should have its own Commissioner and it is only up to Malta to decide.”
Commissioners are nominated by the governments of member states. Than it is up to the President of the Commission to decide what portfolio they are assigned.
Although Mr Dalli is the first European Commissioner to resign over allegations of impropriety, many other Commissioners have resigned before either for personal reasons or to take up a national political career. Every time, their replace-ment was made swiftly by the government of the country involved.
Yesterday, Dr Gonzi indicated that Malta would proceed with its nomination “very soon” although not before the end of the sum-mit today.
Popular Stories
Old buses, drivers to return
Former Judge Ray Pace found dead
Updated: Minister apologises for...
Three new Nationalist MPs elected –...
Where’s Everybody staff is given notice
Updated - Director of Prisons submits...
Update 3 - Woman trapped as car crashes...
Revealed...the face of a Maltese woman...
PL reacts as PN labels Franco Debono's...
In Discussion
Old buses, drivers to return
Updated: Minister apologises for...
PL reacts as PN labels Franco Debono's...
Updated - Director of Prisons submits...
Enemalta seeking minimum five year gas...
Protected birds shot and trapped as...
Mario de Marco, Zammit Dimech concede,...
PN postpones salaries as financial...
Updated - PM's offer to Opposition MPs...
36 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
R. Cilia
Oct 19th 2012, 15:51
In my opinion OLAF should have referred this case to the AG first and then if found guilty Mr.Dalli would be asked to resign. The way it was done, presenting circumstantial evidence only, shows how undemocratic the EU. can be. Someone, and by that I do not mean one person, will be benefitting galore, by shelving the tobacco directive and by getting rid of Mr.Dalli..
j brincat
Oct 19th 2012, 13:50
Hope this is not the case of David and Goliath!
(jb)
Ronnie Callus
Oct 19th 2012, 14:42
Could be. John Dalli for sure was not being seen nice among other countries involved in the tabocco industry when presenting this directive.
j brincat
Oct 19th 2012, 13:48
@J Martinelli
"All this adds weight to the 'circumstantial evidence' which fuels suspicion"
Can you explain yourself better so that we understand exactly what you mean cause I cannot make heads or tails what you're talking about or trying to imply!
So, please come again!
We're all ears!
(jb)
j brincat
Oct 19th 2012, 13:45
Reading foreign media it seems that the tobacco lobby has won the day!
(jb)
j brincat
Oct 19th 2012, 13:43
@ J Martinelli
"...and spoke against the same government which had appointed him"
So, in your great wisdom this is his fault and sin!
How pathetic!
(jb)
J Martinelli
Oct 19th 2012, 12:55
It is astounding how the same people have gone from shock, to accusing, to condemning and now show empathy towards John Dalli.
It is a fact that Dalli took many missteps before and during his tenure as EU Comm., talked too much, befriending former(?) enemies and spoke against the same government which had appointed him! All this adds weight to the 'circumstantial evidence' which fuels suspicion.
Ronnie Callus
Oct 19th 2012, 12:48
Ma' narax kif Dr.,Gonzi qabad u ghamel kollox bonn fatt minghajr investiga l-fatti. Dan u dizunur ghal poplu Malti kollu mad-dinja kollha barra fl-EU. Kont nistenna li Dr.Gonzi kif ukoll l-Opposizzjoni flimkien jaraw kif graw il-fatti mhux Dr.Gonzi qed jghaggel biex ippoggi iehor. Mela sew ghal Austin Gatt u Richard Cachia hareg ghonqu u ghall kummissarju li qed jirrapprezentana le.Dinmhiexserjeta
George Calleja
Oct 19th 2012, 12:38
Il-fatt li Dalli gie mgieghel jirrezenja qabel seta jiddefendi ruhu diga hija haga anti-demokratika ghall-ahhar. Issa x'jigri jekk eventwalment jinstab li Dalli hu nnocenti? Jerga jiehu postu? Bniedem huwa nnocenti sakemm jigi ppruvat li hu hati...hekk tghallimna!
George Lewis
Oct 19th 2012, 12:35
I fully agree with Mr.M.Busuttil that yesterday's Bondi + was not only on OLAF's side but even more against Mr.Dalli himself.I kept wandering if the rift mentioned by Bondi between Barroso and Dalli during the Libyan uprising was also existent between Dalli and himself for some reason known only to himself.
Ronnie Callus
Oct 19th 2012, 13:49
Fully agree. There were spots which does not fit with the accusation. This seems that Lou Bondi wanted to put more weight on John Dalli's issue. Dik imhabba lejn il-proxxmu Lou !!!!
m. borg (slm)
Oct 19th 2012, 11:30
European Parliament sources said several MEPs were putting pressure on the Commission to reveal the details of OLAF’s report, even though this was not normal procedure.
What is this krap about not revealing details. John Dalli might not be one of my favorite politicians but denying him his right to know the details of the accussiations and how OLAF came to their conclusions is totally wrong.
Ronnie Callus
Oct 19th 2012, 14:49
Yes agree with your comment. If it is not a normal practice how come that the MEPs are putting pressure on the commission to reveal the report. First ,John Dalli has the right to know the contents of the report, in order to defend himself as far as I know.
Charles Caruana Carabez
Oct 19th 2012, 10:50
Dalligate rests on, in Kessler's words, 'circumstantial evidence'. I don't know about the country he comes from, (is it Italy?) but I don't think circumstantial evidence holds much water in our courts or in British ones (Thank God). According to Kessler, if I were spotted in a red-light district, I must have been a-whoring. Not only that, but since a prostitute says so, it must be so.
joseph saliba
Oct 19th 2012, 10:32
It has become common practice with biased charlatans to shift the blame of any misdemeanour on our Honorable Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi who enjoys the respect of the majority of the citizen of the country. Now that the elections are getting near they are getting hotter.
Mario Camilleri
Oct 19th 2012, 11:05
What majority??? Let me refresh your memory. Gonzi won by 1,580 votes of which quite a good number were of Franco and JPO's constituencies. Now JPO has left the party thereby carrying his votes to retain his private seat. Franco has so far exposed the filth within the GonziPN. Any doubt that GonziPN is still enjoying the relative majority as well as the parliamentarian majority? Come on!!
Frank Zammit
Oct 19th 2012, 11:24
Shift the blame? There is no need to shift anything, the PN is doing a good job at that. It does not matter from which angle you look at this, if there is any blame here it lies squarely on the PN's shoulders. Typical of BONDI+ the presenter interviewed PL & AD officials but non from the PN-why? The PM's intervention was as head of the GOV not as leader of the PN.
m. borg (slm)
Oct 19th 2012, 11:33
"enjoys the respect of the majority" are you for real mate.?
Polls consistantly show he is losing his popularity by the minute. I am not saying that Dalli is guilty or innocent ,that has to be seen. But it always lands in the PM's lap because he nominated him. Therefore hope that Dalli is innocent.
Marion Storace
Oct 19th 2012, 12:00
you are wrong in yr statement - GonziPN does not enjoy the respect of the majority of citizens - he does not even have a majority in parliament but just sitting on a one-leg seat so get your fact right before commenting.
Have a nice day and do not let the election fever get you too hot under the collar
saviour frendo
Oct 19th 2012, 12:10
Honorable Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi who enjoys the respect of the majority of the citizen of the country.......surely you are joking here....not even within his party, least of all from the citizens of the country.
come on man be serious..any way I will consider this the joke of the year. good one mate.
Evarist Sciortino
Oct 19th 2012, 12:19
Inti l uniku wiehed li semmejt lil Dr. Gonzi.
Ronnie Callus
Oct 19th 2012, 13:57
@ Joseph Saliba:
What majority are you mentioning Joe. Are you serious. To be correct Joe you should have said that Dr.Gonzi does not have majority in Parlament and even more among public. If you are so convinced why not ask Dr.Gonzi to call a vote of confidence in Parliament or much better an election.
M Sciberras
Oct 19th 2012, 10:12
The Dalli case shows up all that is wrong with the way the EU operates. Dalli's reputation has been dragged to the mud on the word of an agency which refuses to divulge the evidence behind the allegations that forced him to resign. Few democracies would permit this. And let us be clear. No commissioner from any of the big EU states would have been forced to resign in this manner.
C Muscat
Oct 19th 2012, 11:01
M Sciberras 100% right.
Gonzi and Muscat should agree and resend Dalli; if anyone has to resign it is Barroso becasue it is a fact that Mr Barroso sacked Dalli and managed to shelve the directive.
Mr Tony Gatt
Oct 19th 2012, 11:52
That's what Malta signed up for. The next is the budget- it will have to be passed by Brussels; so much for colonialism- Malta has swapped one brand for another.
JOSEPH MUSCAT
Oct 19th 2012, 18:31
M. Sciberras, the E U is an organization that is not biased like some of these comments, to them every country is the same you do something wrong get cought and you`r FIRED, and Malta stop MOANING.
twanny borg
Oct 19th 2012, 10:09
Kemm il-gvern u kemm l-oppozizzjoni fallew milli jipprotegu isem malta kontra abbuz mill-eu. Malta zghira imma kont nistenna li l-politici maltin jinvestigaw dan il-kaz fejn dalli jidher li gie imcahhad minn kariga ingustament u b'malizja. Malta falliet bil-kbir billi qabdet u accettat minghajr ma rat il-fatti l-ewwel. Nistaqsi mela gonzi qal li se jahtar iehor minflok dalli. Kien qara r-rapport?
Charles Caruana Carabez
Oct 19th 2012, 10:07
I fail to understand the reasoning behind the EU's Commissioner-replacement policy. Why go through the harrowing process of grilling a proposed Commissioner to establish his/her suitability if the Commissioner, once appointed, can be replaced by anyone else proposed by his/her Government in case of mishap (demise, etc....)?
Ahn' ahna jew m'ahniex?
M Busuttil
Oct 19th 2012, 10:02
A good move for the EU parliament.
In Malta part of the media has already took the side of OLAF and have made their judgement.
The programme I'm refering too is Bondi+ of yesterday. Incredible how such a programme can be shown on a National tv station. For a while I was thinking Lou Bondi was going to say John Dalli is the PL leader as well.
m. borg (slm)
Oct 19th 2012, 11:38
Bondi was implicated in Dalli's first attempt to discredit him, those in know of that time are all somehow involved at PBS.
Let us not forget that there were also hidden hands still very much alive and kicking forming part of the gonziipn strategy team.
If John Dalli is guilkty of what is being said then let himpay but not with him given the chance to defend himself.
Mr Andrew Camilleri
Oct 19th 2012, 12:02
I agree with you. The impression I got was that Bondi was trying to conince us that Dalli is part of the LP. Apart from many asides which had nothing to do with the present problem, asides which in my opinion put Dalli in a bad light. Has Bondi forgotten that Dalli was a NP Minister for 11 years?
John B. Borg
Oct 19th 2012, 12:23
Very good comment. The PN spin machine including of course Lou Bondi and a female blogger want us to foeget that John Dalli is a former PN Minister and still a member of the Nationalist Party. They want us also to forget that John Dalli was 'rehabilitated' in the Nationalist Party by Lawrence Gonzi himself just before the 2008 elections not to lose his substantial amount of personal votes.
John B. Borg
Oct 19th 2012, 12:28
Yes Lou Bondi and the PN spin machine want us to forget also that Silvio Zammit, the other person named in this affair is a long time PN activist and canvasser and Sliema council Deputy Mayor elected for the Nationalist Party until his resignation.
Albert Farrugia
Oct 19th 2012, 13:32
So encouraging to see so many people opening their eyes and easily seeing through the media-machine controlled by the PN's hidden core!
Lawrence Fenech
Oct 19th 2012, 09:37
A move in the right direction by the EU parlliament definately not taken by our government who took the results for granted and failed to discuss the matter in Malta even with the opposition. The only aim was to subsitute John Dalli as quickly as possible, ofcourse prior to local elections.
Peter Murray
Oct 19th 2012, 09:12
Isn't this a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted ?Surely all siuch case should have been subject to scruitiny(details) by the European Parliament before any decisions or actions are taken?This merely reinfroces the fact that the unelected EU hierarchy are undemocratic and responsible to no one.
Please choose the reason of your report below: