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Swedes deny entrapment claim to TVM
Swedish Match ‘categorically deny’ entrapment claims – TVM news
19 October 2012, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Swedish Match say their actions were limited to making a complaint to the EC.
The company that reported an alleged attempt by a Maltese restaurateur to solicit a fee to set up an informal meeting with former European Commissioner John Dalli, has denied having 'entrapped' the Maltese commissioner in its complaint to the EC.
Swedish Match - TVM reported - "categorically denied" having entrapped Dalli, as alleged by the former commissioner, by soliciting a fee from Silvio Zammit through the offices of its European lobby ESTOC (European Smokeless Tobacco Council).
"All we did was to report our complaint to the European Commission and cooperate in the OLAF investigation," TVM quoted Swedish Match as saying.
MaltaToday understands that Silvio Zammit was in email and telephonic communication with the European Smokeless Tobacco Council (ESTOC) as recently as March 2012, in an attempt to broker a meeting with European Commissioner John Dalli. Swedish snuff producers Swedish Match were also in contact with Zammit back in 2011, allegedly having had an advance from Zammit himself. The report to the European Commission and OLAF was made in May 2012.
While an email between the two parties shows that Zammit was offered an undisclosed fee by ESTOC to fix a meeting with Dalli, Swedish Match have told MaltaToday they had received from a Maltese businessman an "indecent proposal which was credible and real enough" for them to inform the European Commission. Swedish Match also told MaltaToday they informed the Commission a few weeks later after receiving the offer.
The chairman of ESTOC is Patrik Hildingsson, the vice-president of Swedish Match.
Dalli's resignation came just days before he was planning to present a review of the Tobacco Products Directive to further regulate the access of tobacco to minors and non-tobacco products.
The cancer charity Smoke Free Partnership director Florence Berteletti Kemp said Dalli's resignation was an unfortunate event. "A few months ago, we exposed the tobacco industry's block, amend and delay tactics on the 2001 Tobacco Products Directive and warned that these tactics are being deployed again in this review process.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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Interessani li l-bierah, El Mundo, wiehed mill-ahjar gurnali fid-dinja, wera thassib li l-Kummissjoni Ewropeja setgha ghandha l-fahama miblul u mhux John Dalli li, fl-opinjoni taghhom, ma kellux ghaliex jirrizenja; iktar u iktar meta wiehed iqis li fi Brussel hemm mal-10,000 lobist li l-hin kollu jindiehsu u jiltaqghu ma MPE u Kummissarji. Tghid din xhieda ohra ta' kif l-UE dejjem tbaxxi u tarmi lil Malta ghax zghira u minn naha t'isfel. Bizzejjed tiftakar kif imxew maghna dwar l-immigranti. U x’inhi din l-indicenza kollha minn naha tal-Gvern Malti li jaccetta kollox, ibaxxi rasu, jilghaq u jhaffef ideffes lil xi bazuzlu qabel l-elezzjoni. Aqra hawn: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/10/17/union_europea/1350479017.html
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ESTOC - Swedish Match statement to TVM ‘Television Malta’ is not convincing at all it sounds that this giant tobacco industry and others have pre-planned all this as another delay tactic TO A VERY IMPORTANT REFORM WHICH WAS ABOUT TO BE PRESENTED BY this coming Monday.
Meanwhile I hope that OLAF director Giovanni Kessler should tell us why he waited until today a few days before Dalli’s report was to be presented, and that in the number of unambiguous circumstantial pieces of evidence gathered will include also the Final submissions of Dalli’s report
on this reform will be included in his investigation Report. EU citizens have the right to know everything and put forward to the press Mr.Dalli’s reports. Till than Giovanni Kessler’s press release is not convincing at all.
Another important point re Mr Kessler press meeting “ we would have appreciated if you have given the Press conference in your own language so that we would leave no doubts on your statements.
I cannot understand why ESTOC is not admitting that they offered a payment - did they do this YES OR NO?
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Interessani li l-bierah, El Mundo, wiehed mill-ahjar gurnali fid-dinja, wera thassib li l-Kummissjoni Ewropeja setgha ghandha l-fahama miblul u mhux John Dalli li, fl-opinjoni taghhom, ma kellux ghaliex jirrizenja; iktar u iktar meta wiehed iqis li fi Brussel hemm mal-10,000 lobist li l-hin kollu jindiehsu u jiltaqghu ma MPE u Kummissarji. Tghid din xhieda ohra ta' kif l-UE dejjem tbaxxi u tarmi lil Malta ghax zghira u minn naha t'isfel. Bizzejjed tiftakar kif imxew maghna dwar l-immigranti. U x’inhi din l-indicenza kollha minn naha tal-Gvern Malti li jaccetta kollox, ibaxxi rasu, jilghaq u jhaffef ideffes lil xi bazuzlu qabel l-elezzjoni. Aqra hawn: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/10/17/union_europea/1350479017.html
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Interessani li l-bierah, El Mundo, wiehed mill-ahjar gurnali fid-dinja, wera thassib li l-Kummissjoni Ewropeja setgha ghandha l-fahama miblul u mhux John Dalli li, fl-opinjoni taghhom, ma kellux ghaliex jirrizenja; iktar u iktar meta wiehed iqis li fi Brussel hemm mal-10,000 lobist li l-hin kollu jindiehsu u jiltaqghu ma MPE u Kummissarji. Tghid din xhieda ohra ta' kif l-UE dejjem tbaxxi u tarmi lil Malta ghax zghira u minn naha t'isfel. Bizzejjed tiftakar kif imxew maghna dwar l-immigranti. U x’inhi din l-indicenza kollha minn naha tal-Gvern Malti li jaccetta kollox, ibaxxi rasu, jilghaq u jhaffef ideffes lil xi bazuzlu qabel l-elezzjoni. Aqra hawn:Además de la duda sobre si realmente Dalli ha dimitido o no, este caso de supuesta corrupción arroja otras dudas que la Comisión Europea no sabe o no quiere contestar. Por ejemplo cuál es el motivo exacto que obliga a Dalli a dimitir si no ha habido intercambio de dinero y no ha afectado al cambio regulatorio que está en marcha, más aún teniendo en cuenta que los comisarios europeos están continuamente en contacto con lobbies y grupos de presión que tratan de influir en las normativas europeas. ¿Por qué debe dimitir Dalli y no otros comisarios que se reúnen con lobbies, a sabiendas de que estos están movidos por intereses económicos? En Bruselas se concentran en torno a las instituciones europeas más de 10.000 personas vinculadas a lobbies que mantienen un contacto asiduo y directo con Eurodiputados, comisarios y otros funcionarios europeos para tratar de modificar las leyes comunitarias de acuerdo a sus intereses económicos. A principios del pasado año el Eurodiputado español, PABLO ZALBA se vio envuelto en un escándalo similar al ser captado por una cámara aceptando enmendar una ley para favorecer a un grupo de presión que después se demostró falso. Zalba no dimitió alegando que no recibió a cambio dinero y que la enmienda que proponía este supuesto lobby "era muy buena" y gustó a su partido. La Comisión tampoco quiere especificar si ha habido en la historia de esta institución algún caso similar -más allá de la dimisión en bloque de la ‘Comisión Santer’ en 1999-. La opacidad con la que Bruselas está llevando este asunto contribuye a alimentar las especulaciones y sospechas en un momento en que justo lo que menos necesita la UE es un caso de corrupción
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Interessani li l-bierah, El Mundo, wiehed mill-ahjar gurnali fid-dinja, wera thassib li l-Kummissjoni Ewropeja setgha ghandha l-fahama miblul u mhux John Dalli li, fl-opinjoni taghhom, ma kellux ghaliex jirrizenja; iktar u iktar meta wiehed iqis li fi Brussel hemm mal-10,000 lobist li l-hin kollu jindiehsu u jiltaqghu ma MPE u Kummissarji. Tghid din xhieda ohra ta' kif l-UE dejjem tbaxxi u tarmi lil Malta ghax zghira u minn naha t'isfel. Bizzejjed tiftakar kif imxew maghna dwar l-immigranti. U x’inhi din l-indicenza kollha minn naha tal-Gvern Malti li jaccetta kollox, ibaxxi rasu, jilghaq u jhaffef ideffes lil xi bazuzlu qabel l-elezzjoni. Aqra hawn:Además de la duda sobre si realmente Dalli ha dimitido o no, este caso de supuesta corrupción arroja otras dudas que la Comisión Europea no sabe o no quiere contestar. Por ejemplo cuál es el motivo exacto que obliga a Dalli a dimitir si no ha habido intercambio de dinero y no ha afectado al cambio regulatorio que está en marcha, más aún teniendo en cuenta que los comisarios europeos están continuamente en contacto con lobbies y grupos de presión que tratan de influir en las normativas europeas. ¿Por qué debe dimitir Dalli y no otros comisarios que se reúnen con lobbies, a sabiendas de que estos están movidos por intereses económicos? En Bruselas se concentran en torno a las instituciones europeas más de 10.000 personas vinculadas a lobbies que mantienen un contacto asiduo y directo con Eurodiputados, comisarios y otros funcionarios europeos para tratar de modificar las leyes comunitarias de acuerdo a sus intereses económicos. A principios del pasado año el Eurodiputado español, PABLO ZALBA se vio envuelto en un escándalo similar al ser captado por una cámara aceptando enmendar una ley para favorecer a un grupo de presión que después se demostró falso. Zalba no dimitió alegando que no recibió a cambio dinero y que la enmienda que proponía este supuesto lobby "era muy buena" y gustó a su partido. La Comisión tampoco quiere especificar si ha habido en la historia de esta institución algún caso similar -más allá de la dimisión en bloque de la ‘Comisión Santer’ en 1999-. La opacidad con la que Bruselas está llevando este asunto contribuye a alimentar las especulaciones y sospechas en un momento en que justo lo que menos necesita la UE es un caso de corrupción
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The problem in this whole saga can be put down to the fact that in our small island culture and mentality there is hardly a distinction between lobbying and inluence peddling and if the the strict EU rules of honest leadership had to be applied our ministers and our political parties would have serious problems. Arn't hefty contributions by businessmen to political parties a form of influence peddling? One can summarize this unfortunate saga as one of a culture clash of our way of doing business with the higher auditing standards of the EU. There are three facts to relect upon. First. Rather than entrapment, in a country of high ethical business standards like Sweden, the Swedish Match company is likely to have got seriously concerned when it realized according to OLAF's Kessler that the action was moving away from a legal payment consideration for lobbying services to a case according to OLAF of a "conspicuous payment" demanded for influence peddling. Secondly lobbying has strict rules of engagement A circus promoter and past canvasser of the EU commissioner lobbying in an area not in the Maltese national interest is unlikely to be seen as deserving the benefit of the doubt when there is according to OLAF strong circumstantial evidence. Thirdly Commissioner Dalli for the second time in his political career has been extremely naive even if he is eventually cleared of wrongdoing. One must follow the golden maxim that Honest leadership has to be seen through openness ,full accountability and total disclosure of actions which might lead to suspicion.
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If it was entrapment - or more specifically a sting operation - Dalli was a willing and easy target. Everyone with a brain on the island knows how Dalli operates - its no big secret.
Dalli will return in luxury at Porto Maso - to run his business empire in Malta, Libya and other places.
The Tobacco lobby will in the end only hurt themselves - hopefully before they manage to poison our children with their drug.
But make no mistake - no matter what you may think of tabacco, feel no pity for Dalli - Dalli would have sold out the anti-tabacco lobby to the higher bidder. Just look at his track record - saying one thing and doing the exact opposite.
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It is still difficult to unravel the facts behind what has really happened. However, one salient fact stands out. The winners so far appear to be the tobacco companies who stand to gain a lot from the postponement and perhaps eventual modification of the Tobacco Directive which was to have been issued this Monday and which certainly would have been damaging to their business.
