EU journalists wonder why Dalli resigned - no resignation letter actually submitted

EU journalists at the Commission's daily briefing today appeared to wonder what John Dalli had done wrong to resign from the Commission yesterday. Some journalists also quoted Mr Dalli as having said that he had not resigned. Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said the resignation declaration was made orally by Mr Dalli to Commission President Barroso but she was not aware of any resignation letter. During questioning, a journalist pointed out that Ms Hansen had said that the Maltese businessman at the core of the issue had acted 'on behalf' of Mr Dalli. He asked her to clarify, but Ms Hansen referred the question to Giovanni Kessler, the director general of OLAF, who was due in the briefing hall later. Several journalists appeared to wonder what the issue was, and what Mr Dalli had done wrong, since all Commissioners were subject to lobbyism. The spokeswoman explained that there was a public/stakeholder consultation process for all initiatives by the Commission, because that was the best guarantee of transparency and there were clear rules on contacts between stakeholders and Commissioners. Another journalist asked if Mr Dalli was at fault if an indecent...