The European Ombudsman has asked Brussels to publish internal correspondence concerning the resignation of Maltese EU Commissioner John Dalli in October 2012.

Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly inspected the documents as part of her inquiry into a complaint from a transparency NGO, Corporate Europe Observatory, which was denied access to the material by the Commission.

She argued that the Commission’s arguments for refusing access were not convincing but also pointed out, after inspecting the documents, that they “did not contain information that was not already in the public domain”.

Nonetheless, Ms O’Reilly insisted releasing the documents would reassure the public that the Commission dealt very seriously with this case and set an example of transparency for future cases of great public interest.

Mr Dalli was forced to resign as EU Commissioner after the EU anti-fraud agency (OLAF), claimed there was “unambiguous circumstantial evidence” that he knew his canvasser Silvio Zammit was using his name in relation to a request for €60 million to help lift a ban on snus – a form of orally-consumed tobacco that can only be sold in Sweden under EU rules.

Mr Zammit is facing charges in Malta over the case, however, the police have not issued any charges against Mr Dalli.

Corporate Europe Observatory lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman in January 2013 after the Commission refused to release two letters from former Commissioner Dalli to the Commission President and two internal notes concerning meetings between the two men.

The Commission justified its decision by referring to the Maltese investigation into the case and its own follow-up actions.

However, after inspecting the documents, the Ombudsman concluded that the Commission’s arguments were not convincing.

The Ombudsman concluded that the Commission had failed to explain how the disclosure of the documents would have undermined the investigation by the Maltese authorities and any other follow up actions. The Commission has to respond by 31 July 2014.

Meanwhile, German MEP Inge Graessle, who has been highly critical of the investigation that led to Mr Dalli’s resignation, said the Ombudsman’s decision was “a major decision in favour of transparency and a slap in the face for everyone who has participated in hiding the documents of the Dalli case from the public”.

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