EU health commissioner resigns over anti-fraud case

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Published 16 October 2012, updated 23 October 2012

2 comments

Tags

anti-fraud, John Dalli, OLAF, tobacco

The European Union's top health official resigned today (16 October) after an anti-fraud investigation connected him to an attempt to influence EU tobacco legislation, the European Commission said.

The EU's anti-fraud office OLAF found that a Maltese businessman had tried to use his contacts with Commissioner John Dalli, who is Maltese, for financial gain by offering to influence future EU legislation on tobacco products.

"The OLAF report did not find any conclusive evidence of the direct participation of Mr Dalli but did consider that he was aware of these events," the Commissions said in a statement, saying that Dalli had resigned with immediate effect.

The statement said it was up to Maltese judicial authorities to decide if they wanted to pursue the case.

Dalli has rejected OLAF's finding. "Even though the OLAF report states that there is no evidence of my direct participation in these events and that the decision making process of the Commission Services had not been influenced in any way", OLAF concluded that I was aware of these events basing themselves ONLY on circumstantial evidence," Dalli said in a statement, denying that he was in any way aware of any of these events.

Dalli was first elected to the Maltese parliament in 1987 and became parliamentary secretary for industry. He later became Minister of Economic Affairs before serving as Minister of Finance for 10 years, with the rare distinction of having introduced VAT twice – the second after the short-lived Labour government removed the tax in 1996.

Vice President Maros Sefcovic will take over the portfolio of Commissioner Dalli on an interim basis until a new commissioner is appointed by the Maltese government.

Positions:

The president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Sir Graham Watson MEP said:

"I welcome the move by Commissioner Dalli to stand down in light of allegations made in order to allow investigations to proceed.

If former Commissioners had behaved in the same way, the Commission and the European Union would have been spared much embarrassment."

Jana Mittermaier, Director of the Transparency International EU Office, said in a statement:

"The Commission statement is a worrying sign that despite the efforts made in recent years to clean up, selling influence and personal connections may still be a feature of EU lobbying. If that is the case, EU institutions need to take anti-corruption measures much more seriously. This includes strict adherence to the Code of Conduct for Commissioners and a mandatory register for lobbyists and interest groups. We note that OLAF has handed its report to the Maltese Attorney General and we look forward to a thorough investigation and swift resolution of the allegations.”

The SmokeFree Partnership (SFP) took note of the resignation of the Health Commissioner John Dalli over allegations made by a tobacco company related to the review of the Tobacco Products Directive.

Florence Berteletti Kemp, Director of SFP, said:

“This is an unfortunate event, given the importance of the portfolio. A few months ago, we exposed the tobacco industry’s block, amend and delay tactic on the 2001 Tobacco Products Directive and warned that these tactics are being deployed again in this review process. At the time, we emphasized that policy-makers need to be aware of how the tobacco industry tries to influence the legislation – and when it cannot, to block or delay the process."

UNITAB, the European Union of Tobacco Growers, added:

"Today we call on the EU Commission to abandon the proposals developed by Mr. Dalli and begin again with a fair and transparent TPD revision process that results in tobacco regulations that will both protect public health and our jobs during this time of crisis."

John Dalli's interim replacement Maroš Šefčovič must not allow further delays to legislation on tobacco products - originally promised in 2010 - according to Matthias Groote, Chair of the European Parliament's Environment and Public Health Committee.

"I welcome Mr Dalli's decision to step down as Commissioner so that due process can take place in the wake of the allegations that have been made."

The long wait for Commission proposals on tobacco products is becoming a never-ending story. I urge Mr Šefčovič to take the Commission's foot off the brakes and publish the tobacco proposals before the end of this year."

EurActiv.com with Reuters

External Links

EurActiv France: Souçonné de trafic d'influence, le commissaire maltais
EurActiv Poland: Po podejrzeniach korupcyjnych komisarz Dalli rezygnuje ze stanowiska
EurActiv Slovakia: Vyšetrovanie prinútilo eurokomisára pre zdravotníctvo rezignovať
EurActiv Turkey: Yolsuzluk davası Avrupa Komisyonu'ndan istifa getirdi
EurActiv Greece: Παραιτείται ο επίτροπος υγείας λόγω των "σχέσεων" με τα λόμπυ

COMMENTS

FYI, EPHA's (Europe’s leading NGO advocating for better health) position on the resign:

"Commissioner Dalli’s resignation shows how powerful the tobacco industry can be in influencing and undermining decision makers that are trying to support public health measures. This also shows that lobbying practices in Brussels need to be much more regulated with increased transparency and a strong role for watchdogs of the decision making process. This is serious enough for the President of the European Commission to take notice and start regulating lobbying practices in Brussels, much more effectively than attempts up to now." stated Monika Kosinska, Secretary General of EPHA - European Public Health Alliance.

"We hope that this will not achieve precisely what big tobacco intented in the first place with this action: blocking a reinforced and stronger future Tobacco Product Directive. We trust that the European Commission and Member States will fulfil their duty as representatives of the public interest, acting for the health of their citizens and will not delay the adoption of the Directive. A strong Directive is the only response the European Commission can give to the OLAF investigation: showing that despite influences, it acts to protect, and on behalf of its citizens." further stated Kosinska

Furhter information is available here:

http://www.epha.org/a/5386

By :
Zoltan MASSAY-KOSUBEK
- Posted on :
17/10/2012
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Unfortunately there was a broke in/burglary into EPHA's Brussels office in the early morning of 18 October. You can see EPHA's press release here:

"Sometime in the early morning of 18 October, a number of offices of organisations working in tobacco control were broken into and items stolen. These organisations are on different floors in the same building, and with the exception of one unrelated other forced entry – where nothing was disturbed – these were the only organisations targeted. A police investigation is ongoing, however early indications are that this was not opportunistic, but a professional and well-equipped team.

The EPHA office was affected in the following ways:
Two laptops stolen – desktops and further laptops not taken. The two belonged to the policy team and a senior staff member.
Cash and personal belongings were removed.
Some early indications that both electronic and physical files were targeted including policy and strategy documents, as well as confidential internal documents relating to EPHA’s organisation and staff

We have received a number of questions on whether this break in is related to the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and the resignation of John Dalli as Commissioner. It is too early to comment on this, however we will like to repeat our call on the European Commission and President Barroso to release the Directive in the interests of public health and transparency.

We would like to thank everyone for their support and understanding during this disruption to our normal activities. It has clearly affected our ability to be continuing the public debate on this important issue at this critical time. We remain committed to our position on the need for stricter legislation on tobacco products, greater enforcement of lobbying transparency and ensuring that policymaking is not controlled by powerful vested interests."

***END***

By :
Zoltán MASSAY-KOSUBEK
- Posted on :
18/10/2012
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