Former Health Commissioner John Dalli’s position as member of the EU executive had become “politically untenable” due to “several informal contacts” with the tobacco industry through a “private intermediary”, according to the European Commission.
Mr Dalli’s actions put doubt on his functions and the integrity of the decision-making process [of the Commission]
Brussels yesterday also contradicted Mr Dalli’s statements that he had not resigned and insisted that the former commissioner had twice accepted Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s invitation to step down during the same meeting and listed its witnesses.
As Mr Dalli yesterday upped the ante on his media offensive against Mr Barroso’s decision forcing him to resign, the Commission addressed the issue once again during its midday briefing.
Its chief spokesman, Olivier Bailly, said Mr Dalli’s resignation followed a political assessment Mr Barroso and Mr Dalli himself had made during a 90-minute meeting held last Tuesday.
Stressing that the Commission would have preferred to keep the discussion between Mr Dalli and Mr Barroso confidential, it said it wanted to clarify what the former Commissioner was saying “through various letters and interviews”.
“Mr Dalli’s actions put doubt on his functions and the integrity of the decision-making process [of the Commission], and therefore it was politically untenable for him to remain in his function,” Mr Bailly said.
“This remains a political assessment made by the (Commission) President and the former Commissioner himself,” he insisted.
Underlining that Mr Dalli’s resignation was a “political” decision and not a legal one, the Commission spokesman said it was now up to the Maltese authorities to decide whether to take any action against Mr Dalli and the businessman at the centre of the allegations.
“The legal aspect of this is now for the Maltese Attorney General to decide whether there will be legal procedures open in Malta and whether Mr Dalli will be sanctioned,” he said.
Sources close to the AG office yesterday told The Times the report sent by OLAF on Friday was being studied in detail, including the evidence collected by the anti-fraud office using “all the legal tools at its disposal”.
The sources said that before publishing the report’s contents the AG would first have to decide whether to take action.
The Commission yesterday also insisted that there was no need for Mr Dalli to submit a formal letter of resignation.
It said Mr Dalli himself had confirmed he was stepping down “twice” during last week’s meeting with Mr Barroso.
Mr Dalli yesterday sent a letter to Mr Barroso, signed as “Commissioner John Dalli” and published by eurosceptic website New Europe, where he insisted he would not be resigning until the President sent him the reasons in writing.
Responding to this latest twist, Mr Bailly said the Commission was considering the issue of Mr Dalli’s resignation closed.
“Mr Dalli accepted Mr Barroso’s offer to resign in a bilateral meeting with the President and later confirmed again that he was resigning in front of Mr Barroso, the director general for legal services and the chef de cabinet [chief of staff] of the President.
“Both have witnessed Mr Dalli’s resignation,” the spokesman said.
Mr Bailly said it was only after the two hours – between 3pm and 5pm – given to Mr Dalli “to make the necessary arrangements” that the Commission released a statement announcing his resignation.
In media interviews, Mr Dalli has said he had been given just 30 minutes.
He said that from that point onwards Mr Dalli was no longer considered to be a Commissioner.
Extract from the European Commission’s press briefing
Chief spokesman Olivier Bailly:
“The elements collected by OLAF after almost six months of investigation were put to the President in a letter on Monday last week and presented to the ex-Commissioner.
“On the basis of these elements that Mr Kessler (director general OLAF), shared with you partly on Wednesday, we consider it was politically untenable for Mr Dalli to remain in this sensitive function because we consider that he had several unofficial contacts with elements of the industry of tobacco through a private intermediary, the Maltese entrepreneur, without there being any discernible or legitimate reasons to involve this intermediary.
“We consider the fact that ex-Commissioner Dalli being aware of the allegations from a Swedish company against the Maltese entrepreneur, and the fact that these meetings did happen with him knowing of the other aspect of the story, was putting doubts on his functions and the integrity of the decision-making process and therefore it was politically untenable for him to stay in his function.
“This remains a political assessment made by the President and Commissioner Dalli himself of this particular situation.”