Need for transparency

The resignation of the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli, accused of not having denounced the attempted solicitation of a bribe on his behalf by a fellow Maltese lobbyist, could have been a chance for European Union institutions to prove that ethics and transparency, two virtues it is often accused of lacking, can indeed be combined.

However, the case seems to be taking a turn in the opposite direction: the Commission is refusing to give Parliament the report of the Anti-Fraud Office of the European Union (OLAF), arguing that the report is now in the hands of the Attorney General of Malta. Approached by the EUobserver, the latter replied that it could not make the report public “while the investigation is ongoing.” Irregularities are also apparent in the way the report was forwarded by the Commission to OLAF’s Supervisory Committee.

However, according to an OLAF spokesman, also approached by EUobserver, the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, could get around the jurisdiction of the Maltese justice system “should that prove necessary or be legally required for significant reasons of public interest.”

One may legitimately hold that such grounds exist, especially since the resignation of Dalli came as he was working on a exceedingly difficult topic – the toughening up of anti-smoking legislation – and is accusing the powerful "Big Tobacco” lobby of having laid a trap for him. The OLAF report was presented to Barroso October 15; the very next day, Barroso asked Dalli to resign from his post. It would be good if the President of the Commission and his services could show the same willingness to ensure full transparency.