John Dalli reacts to court hearings, hits out at Barroso, says Olaf was submissive to the tobacco industry

Former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli gave his press reaction today to the hearings of the European Court held on Monday and Tuesday over a case he raised of unfair dismissal from the commission. Mr Dalli said that during the days of the hearings he maintained media silence as he did not feel that he should in any way interfere in the court proceedings. EU Commissioner President Jose Manuel Barroso, however, thought differently and a press release was issued on Monday attaching the pre-prepared statement that he read to the court as witness, Mr Dalli said. He said a number of new facts came out during the hearing: During his testimony, Mr Dalli said, Mr Barroso admitted that the Secretary General Catherine Day was in communication with OLAF about the progress of its report. He stated that Ms Day reported to him, days before the report was handed to him that the conclusions will be negative in his (Mr Dalli's) regard. "This revelation shatters the often repeated assertion that OLAF is independent from the Commission," Mr Dalli said. "This contradicts statements made earlier by Barroso that he had no contact whatsoever with OLAF about the progress of this report." Mr Barroso...