Sacking instead of resignation would have meant €9,000 monthly perks loss

Former Health Commissioner John Dalli could have lost more than €300,000 in total allowances and a handsome pension if the Commission President had decided to sack him instead of forcing him to resign. According to a Commission official in Brussels, since Mr Dalli was considered to be “innocent until proven guilty” he was entitled to all the benefits afforded to EU commissioners upon stepping down from office. EU rules state that, on leaving office, commissioners are entitled to a resettlement allowance of one month’s salary (€20,278) and a reimbursement for all their travel expenses and moving costs. Former commissioners are also entitled to a transitional allowance for three years, starting on the day after leaving office and a handsome pension upon reaching 65 years, calculated on the length of service. According to Olivier Bailly, spokesman for EC President José Manuel Barroso, it has been calculated that the former commissioner will now be entitled to a monthly transitional allowance of €9,125 for the next three years and a pension of €2,311 a month. “The pension will only kick in once Mr Dalli reaches 65 and that will be very soon,” the spokesman said. Mr...