[VIDEO] John Dalli: ‘Barroso told me to resign’

Former European Commissioner told Brussels political magazine New Europe that he was told to resign by Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, despite knowing that the OLAF investigation concluded there had been no direct connection between Silvio Zammit and him, or Swedish smokeless tobacco producer Swedish Match.

According to Dalli, on Tuesday at 4pm, Jose Barroso read to John Dalli a cover letter of OLAF director Giovanni Kessler saying that they had concluded the investigation and did not find any conclusive evidence against Dalli.

According to the report, no meetings or contacts ever took place between the Commissioner and the industry and that the decision-making process to the review of the Tobacco Products Directive - influenced at all.

The Directive was due to go to the final stage of approval and entering into effect on Monday, 22 October.

MaltaToday is informed that Dalli's cabinet has now stopped all work in the run-up to the Tobacco Directive review which included making 75% of tobacco packaging less attractive by portraying images on the dangers of tobacco, and coming down strong on tobacco flavouring - no doubt a relief to the tobacco industry as things stand.

Dalli said Barroso asked him to resign.

"Dalli said that as the party concerned with the investigation, he never received the OLAF report and never was invited, according to the OLAF procedure, to comment on the report before its release to the authorities and that in any case the report did not include any accusation but simply proving his innocence."

"Taken by surprise, John Dalli asked Barroso 24 hours for him to consult his lawyer and family. Barroso refused categorically and told him, "you have three quarters of an hour as at 17:00 pm I will issue a press release. You have either to resign or I will dismiss you by five o'clock."

Dalli said he prepared a statement defending himself which he sent to the Maltese Prime Minister and Opposition leader, but that the Commission was unable to distribute his press statement.

Dalli also said he was informed that he was a person of interest in the OLAF investigation as early as 11 July, 2012, in connect with "an investigation related to the attempts to invoice the company Swedish Match and the European Smokeless Tobacco Council (ESTOC) through an intermediary, in paying a bribe to obtain the lifting of the EU ban on snus and to have met with interested parties, lobbyists and economic operators to discuss subjects related to the snus case in a possible infraction of the rules governing the impartiality of the Members of the Commission."

OLAF investigated Dalli twice in July and September 2012, conducted behind closed doors by Giovanni Kessler, investigator Edoardo Cano Romera and legal officer Cvetelina Cholakova. Other persons were interrogated by OLAF in Brussels and in Malta.

Dalli told New Europe that the middleman in question, Silvio Zammit never communicated anything of an alleged meeting with him.