Former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli gave his press reaction today to the hearings of the European Court held on Monday and Tuesday over a case he raised of unfair dismissal from the commission.

Mr Dalli said that during the days of the hearings he maintained media silence as he did not feel that he should in any way interfere in the court proceedings.

EU Commissioner President Jose Manuel Barroso, however, thought differently and a press release was issued on Monday attaching the pre-prepared statement that he read to the court as witness, Mr Dalli said.

He said a number of new facts came out during the hearing:

During his testimony, Mr Dalli said, Mr Barroso admitted that the Secretary General Catherine Day was in communication with OLAF about the progress of its report. He stated that Ms Day reported to him, days before the report was handed to him that the conclusions will be negative in his (Mr Dalli's) regard.

"This revelation shatters the often repeated assertion that OLAF is independent from the Commission," Mr Dalli said. "This contradicts statements made earlier by Barroso that he had no contact whatsoever with OLAF about the progress of this report."

Mr Barroso had also stated that he relied on the covering letter and intimated that he hardly read the report.  But a reading of the report showed that the conclusions in this letter were not substantiated.  The report also showed total submissiveness of OLAF to the tobacco industry.

"Barroso states that he had given me an option to give him a full and convincing explanation. My lawyers proved that his was a very late invention by the Commission.  No such option existed during the meeting of the 16th October 2012," Mr Dalli insisted.

"I could not give a full and convincing explanation when the details were being hidden from me as Barroso refused to let me even read the covering letter or see the report. If I had the report I could have easily given a full and convincing explanation about:

1. The meetings with the alleged tobacco lobbyists
2. The accusation that I was minimising my contacts with Zammit
3. The circumstantial evidence that has been put together by Kessler.
4. The timeline which comes out from the statements of Swedish Match and ESTOC employees themselves about the entrapment that they planned and executed.

 PRESS STATEMENTS

Mr Dalli observed that two press statements were prepared both with the same outcome, his termination.  These statements were handed to the spokesperson services before the meeting between him and Mr Barroso started.

"The Commission lawyers say that the Commission did not know that a press conference would be held by Kessler when in fact it was even referred to in the press statement released by the Commission on the 16^th October 2012.

"The telephone conversation between Barroso and Lawrence Gonzi, then Prime Minister of Malta was a short one.

"Barroso admitted that he did not even think about seeking the comfort of a scrutiny of the OLAF report by the Supervisory Committee before acting on it.  In fact he tried to ridicule the idea.  In an important decision like the one he was expected to take, and of which he was aware days before, someone acting in good faith and in a proper precautionary manner, would have done so.  The precautionary principle is an important practice in the decision making process of the Commission."

Mr Dalli said Mr Barroso knew that the report he had from OLAF would not hold water. He was afraid that a review by the Supervisory Committee would prevent him from pursuing his objective of terminating his position in the commission.

"Barroso admitted that he did not give me the possibility of legal advice on the excuse that this was a political issue and not a contract of service issue.

"Barroso stated that he was in a hurry because he was afraid of leaks.  The leaks were being made by the Commission:

1. OLAF had phoned Swedish Match two days before the meeting between Barroso and me to tell them that there will be a press conference on the 17^th October 2012.

2. Catherine Day emailed Fredrik Peyron of Swedish Match before the Commission press release was issued informing him of my termination."

Mr Dalli also noted other points that, he said, have been in the public domain since  March 20 2013. He said Swedish Match had access to the OLAF report while the European Parliament, NGO’s and himself were denied access to it, and Mr Barroso met his immediate collaborators many times to discuss the outcome of the OLAF investigation and possible courses of action.

Mr Dalli noted that the opinion of the Supervisory Committee was finally published on the 4^th July 2014 stated unequivocally that his human rights were violated by OLAF.