Ex-EU health chief’s compensation claim rejected

The EU’s top court has dismissed a claim for compensation brought by the former health Commissioner John Dalli against the European Commission, according to a BBC Online story.

Dalli left his job as EU health commissioner in 2012 after allegations that he had had improper links with tobacco lobbyists. At the time of his resignation, the Commission was finalizing a new Tobacco Products Directive.

Dalli had said that the former Commission chief, Jose Manuel Barroso, had asked him to resign, but the European Court of Justice ruled that this had not been established.

A statement from the court said that when Barroso met Dalli on 16 October 2012, Barroso decided that Dalli should leave the Commission.

However, Barroso had not uttered a ‘clearly formulated’ request for his resignation, the judges ruled.

‘Since the existence of that request… has not been established, the Court dismisses the action as inadmissible,’ the European Court of Justice said in a statement. ‘The court also rejects Mr Dalli’s claim for compensation.’

The EU anti-fraud agency Olaf had earlier delivered a report alleging that Dalli had held unauthorised secret meetings with tobacco industry representatives.

According to Olaf, a Maltese entrepreneur had sought a ‘considerable’ payment from a Swedish producer of snus after which Dalli would have lifted an EU ban on the product outside Sweden.

Dalli has always denied any knowledge of such an approach by the entrepreneur and all of the allegations made against him.

The court ruled that Dalli may bring an appeal.