And he is right. Or at least half right. Half the public is foolish enough to believe him.

Dalli did not need to smell the rat since they probably use the same perfume. He just wanted a piece of the cheese.

This is taken from tripadvisor with respect to transit through Nassau airport.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147416-i169-k5106043-Transit_Through_Nassau-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html

From what I can gather, you would have to clear immigration and customs as well as completing a landing card even if you are in transit.

Also, your passport will be stamped by immigration.

My bet is that he had to get off the plane whether private or not.

Because EFSA is supposed to be independent, it is crucial that its management and the scientific experts involved do not have a vested interest in the issues EFSA is advising on. However, EFSA’s history is riddled with criticism of industry bias.

In February, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) documented several examples of conflicts of interest on EFSA’s management board.

A conflict of interest is generally defined as a situation where an individual in a position of trust faces a conflict between their private interests and their official responsibilities

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

“Conflict of interest occurs when an individual or a corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit his or their own professional or official capacity in some way for personal or corporate benefit”.

So the simple fact of being in such a position, even if no unethical or improper act results, represents a conflict of interest.

The conflict can be mitigated through disclosure, but it can be resolved only by removing the individual from the position.

Commissioner for Health and consumer policy John Dalli has recently pressed for better governance at the agency.

“Dalli presses for better governance at EFSA”, EU Food Policy, Issue 56, 15 April 11.
http://www.corporateeurope.org/system/files/files/article/EFSA_board_conflict.pdf

These are at odds with each other as private flights do not issue tickets as with commercial flights.

[Daphne – He did not go by private flight/jet. He used scheduled flights. That’s why he had a ticket stub. He used private flights/jets for his later trips to the Bahamas, but not for that one in particular. That is where, I suspect, the confusion has arisen.]

Also, if he went to Nassau via the British Airways flight, there is no way he could have stayed onboard whilst the aircraft was turned around ready to return to London. He would have had to disembark and clear customs to enter the country so that he could immediately check-in for the return flight. As he would have had several hours wait, he could have conducted his business from the airport lounge. But he would have had to enter the Bahamas.

[Daphne – Not if he stayed in the transit area at the airport. That would not count as entering the Bahamas. Yes, you are right in that he would not have been allowed to stay on the plane. I raised that point myself. He is lying either about staying on the plane or about the ticket stub, and given that his staff really did see that ticket stub, then he’s lying about staying on the plane.]

Unless, he took a private jet from London to Nassau and the return by British Airways, but that seems… strange.

Dalli’s blatant lies and clutching at straws, while expecting our commiseration at him for being “persecuted” by the media, or Joseph Muscat being treated like a schoolboy by Dalli and then claiming Dalli’s explanations are satisfactory.

Business sharks and fraudsters are particularly attracted to these types of financial operators and centres. They are commonly known amongst people in the trade to be centres of poor repute and only to handle with caution.

Dalli is experienced enough and should have smelled the rat.