European Commission president Josè Manuel Barroso had an interest in blocking the Tobacco Directive and seized the opportunity when OLAF submitted its report on Dalligate, John Dalli said yesterday.
The former European commissioner backed his claim by referring to meetings Mr Barroso had with officials from a subsidiary of Swedish Match, the tobacco company that filed the complaint against Mr Dalli. It claimed that his former canvasser, Silvio Zammit, had asked for a €60 million bribe to alter legislation falling within Mr Dalli’s portfolio.
Mr Dalli also questioned the haste with which the EU Executive acted in his regard and referred to several phone calls made by the commission to EU anti-fraud agency OLAF during the investigation asking to know when it would be concluded.
“Why all this rush?” he asked.
He was speaking during a breakfast show on One TV in the wake of an announcement over the weekend by Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Dalli.
Mr Dalli said he was reserving the right to take legal action against a number of people in Brussels and lashed out at OLAF director general Giovanni Kessler over his handling of the probe that forced his resignation as Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner.
He disputed the claim made by Mr Barroso’s spokeswoman on Monday that the EU Executive had always respected Mr Dalli’s presumption of innocence.
Mr Dalli referred to the press conference given by Mr Kessler on October 16 when he spoke of “unambiguous circumstantial evidence” that the former commissioner knew that a request for a bribe had been made on his behalf.
“Is this respecting my presumption of innocence?” he said.
Speaking at the briefing in Brussels on Monday, the spokeswoman said the commission’s stand was unchanged after the statement by the Police Commissioner.
“We have seen the media reports. Whether they are confirmed or not, the situation regarding the resignation of Mr Dalli remains unchanged,” she said.
“As the commission has stressed from the beginning, the resignation was not about whether a judicial investigation would be opened or whether criminal charges would be brought.
“The commission has scrupulously stressed the presumption of innocence throughout. Mr Dalli resigned because his position had become politically untenable in the light of the facts and the findings of the OLAF investigation.”
Speaking about his position in relation to Maltese politics now, Mr Dalli said he remained a politician and was willing to help whoever sought his help in Malta, whether it was the new leadership of the Nationalist Party or the new government.
He said he had made similar offers in the past to both the PN and the Government but had heard nothing from (outgoing PN leader) Lawrence Gonzi.
Earlier, he complained about the silence of the previous administration throughout the controversy, adding: “The newspapers controlled by the PN had put him on trial and Mr Kessler’s comments were reported as Gospel truth.”