President Barroso before the General Court
(BRUSSELS2) The President of the European Commission will appear on Monday (July 7) before the Court of the European Union in Luxembourg. A first !
José-Manuel Barroso is to be heard as a witness in the Dalli case. The (Maltese) Commissioner for Health, John Dalli, had indeed been "disembarked", brutally from the European Commission, almost two years ago, in October 2012. The reason is disturbing. We then suspect the Maltese of having taken advantage of his functions - in charge of the "tobacco" directive - to obtain advantages, direct or indirect, from tobacco companies.
The problem posed before the European judges is multiple. On the one hand, the alleged facts must be established, with solid supporting evidence. Or, at the very least, we must see to what extent simple suspicions, solidly enough substantiated, made it possible to suspend and put pronto at the door a commissioner. On the other hand, it is a question of whether the President and the European Commission could thus "fire" a European commissioner from these functions. And what a way. The rights of the defense have not really been respected, at first sight in this case. This is the main problem with this case. The "brutality" and the speed of action of the President of the European Commission with regard to John Dalli surprised more than one. To be continued...
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
On this case, read in particular:
- The Dalli affair turns sour. Certainties and troubles…
- The resignation of John Dalli, what lesson to draw from it
- Health Commissioner resigns over influence peddling
In the "Club" edition:
