An EU court rejected former European Commissioner for Health John Dallis claim for compensation for damages he claims he suffered as a result of losing his job.
In a statement Thursday, the EUs General Court said Dalli had failed to provide evidence of unlawful conduct by the Commission or the EUs anti-fraud office (OLAF) and had not demonstrated a “direct causal link between the conduct complained of and the alleged damage, or even the existence of the latter.”
Dalli resigned from the Commission in October 2012. The veteran Maltese politician claims that former Commission President José Manuel Barroso forced him out after presenting him with a report from OLAF, which revealed that a contact of Dallis had demanded tens of millions of euros in exchange for influencing the commissioner. OLAF argued that Dalli must have known about the offer. Dalli denied knowledge of the offer.
Dalli took the case to court in an attempt to claim a symbolic euro in non-material damages, and a further €1,913,396 in material damages, for what he claimed was his “unjustified firing.”
In May 2015, the General Court ruled Dalli had not been unlawfully dismissed by Barroso, who had confronted the health commissioner over his dealings with tobacco lobbyists in Malta while the EU executive body was formulating sensitive tobacco reforms. Just underRead More – Source
