Brussels, 30/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Is there no real proof of John Dalli, the former commissioner for health, having participated in a corrupt operation (the payment of €60 million by the snus industry in exchange for the removal of the ban on its marketing in Europe by the commissioner through an revised directive on tobacco)? This is what the OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) report to the Maltese judiciary indicates: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7Swai6S9z6QRlJUWGE0dkN1b1E/edit? usp=sharing&pli=1
These revelations have provoked a number of reactions from MEPs on the European Parliament's budgetary control committee. The OLAF document published in Malta Today demonstrates that the investigation into the forced resignation of the former commissioner “was not carried out conclusively or could be described as impartial”, said Bart Staes (Greens/EFA, Belgium). He added that this report clearly shows that the OLAF report “was not able to bring decisive proof indicating the direct participation of the former European commissioner, John Dalli, in the attempted pedalling of influence”. Ingeborg Grässle (EPP, Germany), the rapporteur on OLAF reform who has already called for the resignation of the director-general of OLAF over the Dalli affair, stated that “the document confirms the impression of a biased investigation and a certain amount of amateurism, without even counting the evidence of violations of fundamental rights being committed”.
The main point from the OLAF report sent to the Maltese legal authorities on 17 October is: “circumstantial evidence” led to the resignation of John Dalli on 16 October 2012, flow from coincidental telephone conversations between Dalli, Silviu Zammit (who made the offer of €60 million) and Gayle Kimberley (the lobbyist working on behalf of Swedish Match) just before, during and after the meetings about snus (the tobacco product marketed by Swedish Match).
According to this report, Dalli breached the commissioners' code of conduct and World Health Organisation rules on relations with the tobacco industry. With regard to the more serious charges, namely having directly participated in corruption (the payment of €60 million by the snus industry) or even being aware of the manoeuvres of Zammit, no material proof has been provided to draw any conclusions in this respect.
José Bové (Greens/EFA, France) said that the OLAF report indicates that the accusations against Dalli “are not based on concrete facts”. In July 2008, the EU Court of Justice ruled against the Commission and OLAF for having violated the principle of presumed innocence (Franchet and Byk against the Commission, case T-48/05). This ruling followed the OLAF investigation into possible irregularities in the financial management at Eurostat. It also deplored the fact that OLAF had publicly identified them, including through leaks to the press, as being guilty of criminal offences, in violation of the principles of “the presumption of innocence, the obligation of confidentiality of enquiries and good administration”.
The OLAF document also reveals unacceptable collusion between Swedish Match, Michel Petite and the European Commission's Secretariat General. In it we learn that Swedish Match had contacted Michel Petite, the former head of the European Commission's Legal Service, now working as a consultant at the Clifford Chance solicitors' office in Paris. One of the clients of this solicitors' office is Philip Morris. At the request of Swedish Match, Petite contacted Catherine Day, the secretary general of the European Commission. Following this communication, Swedish Match sent its allegations against Dalli to Catherine Day. The Greens Group at the EP believe that this “is a demonstration of a blatant conflict of interest between the administration at the European Commission and Swedish Match, which is unacceptable”. (LC/transl.fl)