[attach id=249478 size="medium"]OLAF director general Giovanni Kessler.[/attach]
The EU’s anti fraud agency (OLAF) went beyond its mandate and possibly broke laws in the way it obtained information in the Dalligate investigation, according to a report by its own watchdog.
The annual report into OLAF’s workings, of which The Times has a copy, was presented yesterday at a heated hearing of the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee.
Several MEPs expressed serious concerns about the way the investigation was handled and about the leadership of the OLAF director general, Giovanni Kessler, who was a protagonist in Dalli investigation.
German MEP Inge Graessle, who had recently called for Mr Kessler to step down, described the situation as “a fire out of control” as she urged fellow parliamentarians to “stop downplaying” these things.
She placed her criticism directly on the doorstep of Mr Kessler, saying that “these are not the working methods of OLAF but of the director general” and adding that: “The situation in OLAF is rotten.”
The situation in OLAF is rotten
Dutch MEP Jan Mulder went a step further, saying that he could not understand why the President of the European Commission, Manuel Barroso, did not check, before taking action on the OLAF investigation, whether the probe had been scrutinised by the supervisory commission.
“Had the supervisory committee said then what they said now he would not have summoned Mr Dalli,” Mr Mulder said.
In fact, in its report, the supervisory committee underscored the fact that it was only given access to the investigation after it was communicated to the European Commission and action was taken in respect of Mr Dalli, who was forced to step down after a short meeting with Mr Barroso in October 2012.
The report itself does not bear out the precarious situation alluded to by the MEPs but, as a colleague of Ms Graessle pointed out at the hearing, there is a lot to be read between the lines, particularly as a more detailed report of the supervisory committee, specifically on Dalligate, is not public.
The contents of that report were communicated directly to Mr Kessler and the presidents of the European institutions, to safeguard the confidentiality of the investigation.
However, the EU Observer yesterday reported on this confidential document, which it said questioned Mr Kessler’s impartiality and OLAF’s independence vis-a-vis the European Commission, which had passed on the original complaint to the agency for investigation
Beyond this, passages in the annual report question the legal basis of some investigative actions taken by OLAF and even suggest the anti-fraud agency may have breached articles in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Charter of Human Rights. These passages, sources have told The Times of Malta, refer directly to the Dalligate investigation.
There is a lot to be read between the lines
The report questions whether OLAF had the legal basis to demand that a witness record a conversation with one of the suspects and whether it had the right to ask Maltese authorities to obtain phone records and e-mail communications of some of the suspects.
Mr Kessler, who spoke briefly towards the end of the hearing, defended himself against the MEP’s attacks, saying he “must have read a different” report because he was “very positive” about it.
He argued that while the report, as was expected from such documents, had flagged areas where improvements were needed, there was no claim that the fundamental rights of anyone had been breached.
He insisted that, even with regard to the Dalligate investigation, the report of the supervisory committee had highlighted legal issues which OLAF should look into “but at no stage had said there was an outright violation of human rights or fundamental guarantees”.
He also urged the Maltese authorities to publish the OLAF report – which remains under wraps to this day – so that there could be a transparent discussion about the matter.
He referred to “leaks” to the press intended to manipulate the situation, apparently referring to a report in Malta Today, which claimed the supervisory committee report had uncovered abuse in the way the Dalligate investigation was handled.
Such selective leaks, “not by disinterested parties”, were intended to manipulate the situation, he said.
But Dr Grassle said: “I am interested in having a discussion with you Mr Kessler but from previous experience I know it will not go very far. I do urge you to stick to the truth, stick to the truth,” she said.
mmicallef@timesofmalta.com