Running Commentary: Daphne Caruana Galizias notebook Commentary ← Older Archives “When Dalli returned to Malta, the government sacked the chief of police and the new police chief said he had no case against Dalli.” – European Commission investigator Giovanni Kessler, in an interview four weeks ago Published: November 25, 2013 at 2:33pm Giovanni Kessler European Commission (OLAF) investigator Giovanni Kessler, who handled the investigation into John Dalli’s dealings, interviewed by the Hungarian journal Business, on 31 October (in translation): BUSINESS: What are our comments on the Dalli case? After you investigated him on suspicion of corruption, European Commissioner John Dalli resigned, but his political allies attacked you through the European Parliament. Why have you reacted so strongly to their pressure? GIOVANNI KESSLER: “It is OLAF’s duty to investigate, and that is what we did. We send our final report results to the relevant institutions – in this case, the president of the European Commission and the Attorney-General in Malta. “The President of the Commission confronted Mr. Dalli and he resigned. The Maltese have charged one person who is on trial. Just two weeks ago, the former Maltese police chief said that he would have prosecuted Dalli but couldn’t do so because he was away from Malta with a note from his doctor. They could not bring charges against him because he was not physically present. “When Dalli returned to Malta, the government sacked the chief of police and the new police chief said he had no case against Dalli. “Political interference in judicial matters is dangerous and causes damage. In this case, it happened. Some members of the European Parliament got involved in the case and made presentations to the courts. We say, let the judgment of the court take place. It is not up to us, but to the national courts. “Had OLAF done something wrong, we would be answerable to the European Court of Justice. Dalli has no case against OLAF, but he argues that he was forced to resign. So okay, let’s turn to the European Court of Justice. “It’s not up to politicians to decide who is right or wrong. When politics and factionalism become involved, wrong-doers escape justice. “So I stood up and said: “We are responsible to the courts.” There are other mechanisms, ombudsmen. They would have punished us if we were wrong, but they did not. We are not politically accountable for the results of their investigations. “OLAF investigates independently and then reports the results of its investigations. Some lawmakers did not know – it was a revelation to them – that there is an independent body which has the right and duty to investigate even politicians. We investigate even European Commission employees where necessary, and the EU has tens of thousands, from the lowest to the highest level, whether it is a secretary, a member of the Commmission or an MEP. “We do not allow ourselves to be influenced politically. Imagine what would happen if the investigation changed when the politicians or the political situation does. It would be the end of justice. This case showed Europe, member states and European institutions, that we take our independence very seriously. In Italy we say, “first clean up outside your door”. I think this is a good example. When you detect an attempt to contaminate the investigation process, report it and don’t cover it up, investigate it and pass on your conclusions to the appropriate authority. I think that the European institutions have shown how seriously they take these matters.”
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:13:43 +0000