Commission may divulge more Dalli details

The European Commission is considering giving more public information about the circumstances that led to John Dalli’s forced resignation as health commissioner but it first has to establish what it can legally divulge. Confirming that Commission president José Manuel Barroso had received a letter from European Parliament president Martin Schultz, spokesman Olivier Bailly yesterday said the Commission was examining what more information it could release. “I can confirm that Mr Schultz has asked us for additional information on what led to the resignation of the former commissioner and to have access to the contents of the OLAF investigation report,” Mr Bailly said. “The president will be replying to this letter but the Commission will first have to consider the legal constraints before sending an official reply to MEPs,” he said. Commission sources told The Times Mr Barroso’s Cabinet was in contact with the Commission’s legal services to obtain the green light on what “additional information” could be passed on to MEPs. The sources said although MEPs had asked to see the contents of the OLAF report on a confidential basis, it was not yet sure whether this was permitted as the...