Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/398422
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 OctObEr 2014 News 4 MiriaM Dalli The european Union should freeze the current negotiations on the re- newal of the Tobacco Agreements unless all documents and annexes of these agreements are published, Green MePs Bart Staes and José Bové said. Ahead of the second anniversary since the sacking of John Dalli as european Commissioner for health in connection with bribery allega- tions relating to a former aide, the two MePs flagged the shortcomings in the inquiry by OLAF, the eU's anti-fraud office, into the allega- tions of bribery to influence the eU tobacco law. Writing in eurActiv.com, Staes and Bové argue that outgoing eu- ropean Commission president José Manuel Barroso gave in to manipu- lations of the tobacco industry by sacking Dalli. "A black day for european democ- racy from which sadly enough we have not learned the right lessons. On the contrary, lobbying, conflict of interests and corporate interests taking over on european decision making will get worse if the eU-US free trade agreement TTIP will see the day. The arbitrage mechanism ISDS seems to be designed for mul- tinationals like Philip Morris Inter- national (PMI)," the two opined. Dalli was forced to resign by Bar- roso on the strength of a covering letter to the OLAF investigation, which however stated it had no di- rect evidence but circumstantial ev- idence that Dalli was aware of a €60 million bribe request to reverse the eU ban on smokeless tobacco. The saga became known as 'Dal- ligate' and Staes, Bové and MeP In- geborg Grässle, were asked by inves- tigating Judge Van Aspen to sit for interviews with him. The commu- nication of this request to the MePs was however delayed by european Parliament President Martin Schulz by five months, delaying the inves- tigtation. "The past two years we have tried, together with some colleagues, NGOs and journalists, to shed some light on the real reasons behind 'Dalligate', which should and later will be called 'Barrosogate'. "Many have tried to wipe these reasons under the carpet, and a lot still stays there. But a few facts are clear. The OLAF report on the so- called attempts by Dalli to change the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in exchange for cash, was ma- nipulated, partial and biased, full of lies and illegal methods. Already in April last year Peter Paul Zam- mit, the then Maltese Police Com- missioner and Prosecutor General, stated that 'there is no criminal evi- dence to arraign or accuse former health commissioner John Dalli'." The two MePs admitted to not having been surprised by the deci- sion of the Maltese judicial authori- ties not to prosecute Dalli. "The various documents of OLAF, as revealed by the media, show that this inquiry was done only à charge and not a décharge." Staes and Bové said that the Swedish tobacco company Swedish Match, a PMI-daughter that started the whole affair, lied on several oc- casions. By way of example, the two re- count how Swedish Match claimed it had notified the Swedish govern- ment of the alleged case of bribery. But according to Swedish officials, they never did. "It was through the mediation of French lawyer Michel Petite – who is defending PMI – and who in- formed secretary-general Catherine Day, that OLAF was instructed to start an inquiry. Petite, who as head of the eC Legal Service, signed the agreement with PMI in 2004. In order to stop legal proceedings for an American court by the eU, PMI agreed to pay over 1 billion euros, of which it has paid so far around €840 million." Staes and Bové argue that it is very clear that these agreements are the missing link in the Dalligate affair, explaining why the situation devel- oped as it did. "As long as the Committee of Budgetary Control does not get ac- cess to all the underlying documents and annexes of the Tobacco Agree- ments (four in total) the eU should freeze the current negotiations on the renewal of these agreements," they insist. Dalligate – MEPs want transparency on EU-Olaf tobacco agreements 'A black day for European democracy from which sadly enough we have not learned the right lessons' Man arrested on suspicion of trying to sell drugs JOhn Pisani Police arrested a man suspected of selling drugs while cruising down St Luke's Road in Gwardamangia in a Mercedes. Police officers were told that the man had been "bothering passers- by" before Rapid Intervention Unit officers arrived on site to conduct a search on the suspect. The man was taken to the police headquarters for questioning, and his car was driven away by a police officer for a thorough search. The man is being held by police for ques- tioning. Bart Staes (left) and José Bové called for a freeze on negotiations