Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/510672
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 MAY 2015 News Dalli loses unfair dismissal case CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 One of the chapters in the mini-con- spiracy that is Dalligate, came to an end yesterday with a de- cision by the General Court of the European Court of Justice declaring that former European Commissioner John Dalli was not unfairly dismissed by the president of the executive, José Manuel Durao Barroso. The case centred around Dal- li's insistence that he had not voluntarily tendered his res- ignation – as claimed by the Commission – but that he was sacked, a claim he wanted con- firmed by the ECJ to reverse the institutional decision. The former health commis- sioner resigned in October 2012 when faced with allegations that he had been aware of attempts by a former canvasser, Silvio Zammit, to solicit a €50 mil- lion bribe from Swedish Match, and later €10 million from the European Smokeless Tobacco Council (Estoc) to reverse an EU retail ban on snus. At the time, Dalli was working on the review of tobacco rules as part of the Tobacco Products Directive. Barroso insisted with the Court that this had been "bizarre" be- haviour by a Commissioner, and that he wanted to protect the reputation of the Commission after OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, presented him with "cir- cumstantial evidence" of Dalli's knowledge of the bribe. For a while, Dalligate set the scene for an intensive overhaul of EU transparency rules after it was revealed that the former commissioner had met tobacco industry representatives unofficially. It also put enormous pres- sure on OLAF, and its direc- tor general, Giovanni Kes- sler, because Dalli's inappropriate associa- tions with lobbyists and Zam- mit – still in court facing bribery charges – were overshadowed by doubts over how the anti-fraud agency carried out its investiga- tion. As one of Barroso's main crit- ics, Green MEP José Bové, put it, Dalli was not forced to resign but the OLAF investigation that brought him down "is a fraud". Court action Dalli filed the claim for unfair dismissal after he claimed he was forced to resign his post as Commissioner by Barroso, on the strength of the covering let- ter to an OLAF report alleging that circumstantial evidence existed that Dalli was aware of a €60 million bribe to reverse to- bacco rules. The case centred around the question of whether Dalli was sacked or not when the two met face-to-face to discuss the OLAF allegations. Dalli said he was not given the chance to read the report, which had yet to be published, and that he had to rely on the covering letter of the agency. OLAF claimed there was cir- cumstantial evidence showing that Dalli was aware of a €60 million bribe being solicited by Silvio Zammit from Swed- ish Match and the European Smokeless Tobacco Council (Es- toc) to reverse an EU retail ban on snus tobacco. Barroso insisted that the Com- mission's reputation was at risk as far as the tobacco industry and public opinion were con- cerned, and that Dalli – having been in contact with representa- tives of the tobacco industry in unofficial and confidential meetings – could be in breach of his duty to behave in keep- ing with the dignity and the duties of his office. Dalli claimed that Barroso orally demanded his resig- nation, so he sought from the Court an annulment of that alleged oral request. The C o m m i s s i o n disputed the allegation and contended that Dalli resigned voluntarily. Towards the end of their f ac e -t o -f ac e m e e t i n g , they were joined by the Head of P r e s i d e n t B a r r o s o ' s Cabinet, Jo- hannes Lait- e n b e r g e r , and the D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l of the Com- mission's Le- gal Service, Luis Romero Requena. An hour after the meeting ended, Rome- ro Requena handed Dalli a draft letter of resignation. Dalli deleted some of the text of that letter but did not alter the part concerning his resignation. Barroso, Dalli and all witness- es appeared in the ECJ's general court in Luxembourg to testify on the claims and for the Court to establish whether Dalli re- signed orally or not. The court found that Dalli re- signed voluntarily, with no for- mal request for his resignation having been made by Barroso. The court said that Barroso had, at an early stage of the meeting, decided "in view of Mr Dalli's failure to provide a full and convincing explanation when faced with OLAF's con- clusions, that Mr Dalli should leave the Commission, and that he was determined, should it prove necessary, to exercise his power under the TEU to request Mr Dalli's resignation to achieve that end." It said that Barroso remained willing to accord him the favour of resigning voluntarily, without a formal request from the Presi- dent. The General Court rested on the following facts to come to its decision 1. A statement made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in parliament on 16 October 2012 that he had received a telephone call that day from Dalli, during which the latter had explained that he would challenge any allegation made against him but that he had decided to resign in order better to defend himself; 2. An interview Dalli gave to a radio station on 16 October 2012 in which he presented his departure from the Commission as a political choice freely made, stating in particular that 'I do not stay where I am not wanted' when the journalist suggested that President Barroso had forced him to resign; 3. Dalli did not challenge the press statement issued by the Commission on 16 October 2012, although he was aware of that statement which referred to his resignation; 4. The absence of any official declaration on Dalli's part, in particular in his own press statement issued on the evening of 16 October 2012, denying that he had resigned as announced by the Commission; 5. The limited nature of the handwritten annotations made by Dalli to the draft letter of resignation; 6. The account of the meeting drawn up by Romero Requena on 18 October 2012 (before Dalli first disputed either the fact or the legality of his resignation), according to which Dalli "while categorically denying the accusations against him, stated that in order to defend his reputation he was presenting his resignation as a member of the European Commission with immediate effect." Conclusions of General Court John Dalli 'did not alter the part concerning his resignation' Barroso - wanted to protect the commission