The President of the European Commission writes to John Dalli
NB the form of address: Dalli wrote his letter improperly to ‘Jose Manuel’. The reply is to ‘Mr Dalli’.
Brussels, 24 October 2012
Letter of President Barroso to Mr. Dalli
“Mr Dalli,
I received your letter of 21 October 2012.
I would like to inform you that I am unable to accept the statements and claims made in your letter.
During our meeting on 16 October 2012, you have yourself unambiguously declared your immediate resignation, before the Director General of the Legal Service and the Head of my Private Office. Under the Treaty, no written form is required for a declaration of resignation, and it is irrevocable.
As a consequence, no further question arises about the effectiveness of your resignation.
Your various complaints and accusations of illegal or incorrect conduct vis-à-vis you that you have advanced in several statements since 17 October 2012 are equally incomprehensible. In this respect, I would remind you that you have had in good time several opportunities to react to the issues raised with regard to the OLAF investigation.
Finally, in the light of certain statements and insinuations you have made in relation to the process of preparation of the revised directive on tobacco, I wish to remind you of your obligation, as a former Commissioner, to behave with integrity in accordance with Article 245 TFEU. As the OLAF investigation confirmed, the decision making process of the Commission in the tobacco file has not been affected and, as foreseen in its Work Programme, the Commission will proceed with this proposal.”
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This is even more embarrassing than last week’s events. I am glad Gonzi with all his faults is my prime minister and no one else.
It is absolutely fascinating to me that so many Laburisti are rallying behind Dalli rather than rubbing this ‘mistake’ in Gonzi’s face.
Don’t you remember that up till now they have accepted into their skip every immoral and unethical person rejected by the PN. They are doing the PN a wonderful job in thoroughly purging it; thus regenerating it before the real election mode kicks in.
Gonzi is responsible for his actions and not anybody’s else’s, especially Dalli’s.
Dalli is sour because he knows that with Gonzi, there is no wavering on principles, changing them to suit the occasion and to treat some better than others.
Gonzi dealt with facts on a certain date and committed no error appointing Dalli as Commissioner. Gonzi does not hold anybody’s hands, pulling someone from the dangers of doing stupid things. What happened to Dalli (if anything) was Dalli’s own doing.
There is absolutely nothing to rub on Gonzi’s face and the LP would be the least qualified to do so, anyway.
More embarresment for John Dalli and Malta.
Dalli’s just been told to back off from the directive.
He outlined a scenario where this commission wouldn’t have managed its implementation last Monday. Barroso to blame of course. The whole scandal may have been predicted, indeed part of the plan, after all, he did say it will cost him his career.
The Irish MEP’s don’t care for Dalli, just the directive, as do the Greens, notwithstanding what Maltatoday’s trying to say.
Why does Barroso keep on insulting our intelligence by lying in our face and pretending that the decision making process regarding the Tobacco Directive has not been “affected”? Does he not know what “to affect” means? If so does he deny that the directive has been seriously affected by being put on hold, that it will remain stalled for only God knows how long and when/if it is eventually passed if it will be in the original Dalli version and not that desired by Swedish Match?
Wasn’t that the whole point of shedding Dalli – that the Directive remains unchanged?
No! It wasn’t. OLAF itself admitted that there was no proof that Dalli was guilty of anything and of agreeing to tampering with the directive (in fact that would have meant his potical suicidal).
An independent source as The Lancet says that Dalli’s forced resignation created undoubted delays to the progress of the directive if not its final remote arrest.
I never knew Barroso had it in him. Good! Sometimes it takes an irritating individual to bring out a man’s leadership qualities.
Wow. I’ve never seen such a blunt put-down from the Commission, let alone from Commission President.
Johnny Boy had better go and hide in a corner now. He’s flogging a very dead horse.
He’s also portraying a very negative trait in the unprofessional Maltese character. This will indeed take years to remedy unless the Prime Minister condemns Dalli’s behaviour today AND without reserve.
X’misthijja, jekk jaf xi tfisser Mr Dalli, avvelina mad-dinja zgur.
‘to behave with integrity’, fat chance. He has already been fired for doing the exact opposite.
The tone of the letter gives the impression of a school master scolding an incorrigibly bad student. ‘Grow up!’
“to behave with integrity”
Hmmm, erm, Privitera, could you kindly contact ex-Tourism Minister Joe-Fuck-You-Father-Barri-Barroso-Grima and have him explain to J Dalli BA what exactly does this mean?
Barroso is angry at Joey The Fat Controller and is taking it out on Johnny, miskin. Not that Johnny doesn’t deserve it.
X’kull hasla qed jaqla dan Dalli minghand tal-EU. ‘Unambiguous’ seems to be the keyword. Dying to learn what the report has to say.
I guess that, true to form, it will be unambiguous and direct.
I liked The Times headline: “Barroso tells Dalli to “behave with dignity”. Unfortunately, though, I don’t think it was meant as a comment on the letter but was probably an error transposing “I wish to remind you of your obligation, as a former Commissioner, to behave with integrity”.
There you are, the Times has just corrected its headline to “Barroso tells Dalli to ‘behave with integrity'”
I love his blog, no nonsense and no mincing of words…
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121024/blogs/cooking-geese.442342
If I were Dalli I would find the nearest rock and crawl under it but that would be asking too much of him. He has no self-awareness.
I feel embarrassed in his place.
L-inqas ftit unur ma fadallu dan il-bniedem biex jiddefendi l-indifensibbli?
Mhux ahjar igawdi l-pensjoni li tawh minflok joqghod jaghmel bhal Don Quixotte u jiggieled mal-imtiehen tar-rih? Ghall-inqas issa m’ghadux “il-prigunier ta’ Brussels” li kien qal li hu.
Issa la hareg mill-habs igawdi l-hajja tieghu fil-kwiet, minsi minn kulhadd barra mill-eroj tad-dar tal-hgieg li tant mar imekkek fiha u li issa li uzawh kemm felhu irmewh mal-erbat irjieh.
Did you expect any different from John Dalli?
I mean, come on, even his behaviour at this stage is embarrassing.
Instead of a dignified silence we get tantrums, and instead of keeping a respectful distance while the cogs of investigation find out what really happened, Mr. Dalli is clutching at any straw that to him seems like a life raft.
Granted, he is innocent until proven guilty, but the way he is going about it makes it look otherwise.
I’m dying to know who’s giving him advice, i.e. if he’s taking any.
The first time that OLAF summoned him, he could have wriggled out of it. He could have admitted to the meeting and to knowing Zammit well and then proceeded to resign voluntarily, even though he would have kept to the ‘I know nothing about the money’.
The reason for his resignation would have been that Zammit, a close friend/aide had compromised his position. Such behaviour would have afforded him some dignity.
Maryanne, Dalli doesn’t do dignity, he prefers money.
X’kisra.
The short version:
http://oi47.tinypic.com/9h3vj4.jpg
‘F*** off’ is better suited in my opinion.
I hope John Dalli accepts the fact that his political career is over and spares our country from further embarrassment. Please, can someone illuminate him to shut up.
I think Dalli has breached this already and needs to have his pension and reduced salary removed.
Article 245 TFEU
The Members of the Commission shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties. Member States shall respect their independence and shall not seek to influence them in the performance of their tasks.
The Members of the Commission may not, during their term of office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. When entering upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that, both during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits. In the event of any breach of these obligations, the Court of Justice may, on application by the Council acting by a simple majority or the Commission, rule that the Member concerned be, according to the circumstances, either compulsorily retired in accordance with Article 247 or deprived of his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead.
The damage was not done with the resignation but with all the comments he passed in five days, plundering the media with useless preoccupation. His responses show that he has not started to understand how the world operates let alone politics in the EU. Such childish politicians, Malta should have gotten rid of in 1988.
Super One’s voice at its best against Barroso on the timesofmalta.com comments board.
Among them is the fat controller’s lover, of all people – that is if it is not the fat controller himself, using her name.
I feel too ashamed to be Maltese.
“But I never knew or HEARD that Dalli was in any way involved in any corruption. Although from the opposing side, I always ADMIRED his capabilities as an administrator.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121024/opinion/John-Dalli-has-been-framed.442374
This is so wrong.
[Daphne – Well, what do you expect from a former Labour MP?]
As an ex-MP, doesn’t the author remember the Daewoo affair?
Why do I get the impression that Dalli sits down to write letters and issue statements after the clock strikes noon?
Hailing from Qormi I take umbrage at that remark.
I was tempted to pass the same remark some time ago but respecting some Qriema made me bite my tongue, err leave the keyboard alone.
Did Barroso take unfair advantage, you think?
Makes Johnny Cash sound like a bit of a dog: “Heel, boy!”
Quite right, too.
The embarrassment on a personal level for Dalli and also on a national level has now reached grotesque proportions.
The tone and the substance of this letter are so belittling as to make it disconcerting.
I have my doubts whether Dalli has a sufficient level of education to understand its import.
Is there a law which says that it is illegal to drag your country down and bring it into disrepute ?
We could start considering a revocation mechanism for MP’s, gather enough signatures and an elected embarrassment is shown the door.
There is more to it than meets the eye here… We may have got it all wrong.
I believe that John Dalli has been proverbially sacrificed as a lamb to the slaughter.
He may have screwed up (Big time if I may add), in our local political scenario; However, I believe that Sivio Zammit, is the main culprit, by using his warped manipulation on John Dalli for his own personal gain, without Dalli’s knowledge.
P.T. Barnum comes to mind.
What you just wrote does not make much sense, and here is why.
There is little reason to believe that Dalli is ‘the sacrificial lamb’ especially since Barosso declared that the EU directive will be implemented as-is and without amendments.
It is only logical that the EU would rather embarrass a lobbyist than attract unwarranted attention towards one of its own Commissioners, let alone fire him.
If Dalli was perceived as lying or hiding the truth during OLAF investigations, then even if legally he can get away with it, from the moral point of view he becomes a cropper.
During OLAF’s interviews with him, there is a great possibility that he was hearing them all-right but his understanding of what was being said was different.
Had he fully understood the implications, earlier on during the investigations, he still had the opportunity to correct and fess up about ‘irregular relationships with Zammit’ whether intentional or otherwise.
Even if at an early stage it became obvious that his position was untenable, then he could have ‘resigned’ for personal reasons and not give Barroso & Co. any reason to make public statements by the handful and publishing ill-written letters by Dalli and sharp replies in correct language and properly addressed to Mr Dalli.
I think this is a very important line in President Barroso’s letter:
“In this respect, I would remind you that you have had in good time several opportunities to react to the issues raised with regard to the OLAF investigation.”
It means that Dalli had faced the issues raised by OLAF before his meeting with Barroso, and Dalli was given the opportunity to be heard by OLAF, but OLAF was not convinced by the explanations given by Mr. Dalli presumably because OLAF had different evidence. Thus, I understand, OLAF delivered its conclusion after giving a fair opportunity to Dalli to reply to allegations.
Article 245
(ex Article 213 TEC)
The Members of the Commission shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties. Member States shall respect their independence and shall not seek to influence them in the performance of their tasks.
The Members of the Commission may not, during their term of office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. When entering upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that, both during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits. In the event of any breach of these obligations, the Court of Justice may, on application by the Council acting by a simple majority or the Commission, rule that the Member concerned be, according to the circumstances, either compulsorily retired in accordance with Article 247 or deprived of his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead.
10 million in advance, 60 million when the directive is sabotaged. Is the content public knowledge?
If he insists crucial parts have been modified, it’s done.