Barroso to testify at European court in influence-peddling case
Jose Manuel Barroso - Photo EP
(LUXEMBOURG) - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is to testify before the European Court of Justice next month over the resignation of a commissioner in a tobacco-linked influence-peddling affair.
The court is hearing witnesses on July 7 to examine the circumstances in which former EU health commissioner John Dalli resigned in October 2012.
The Maltese politician says he was forced to resign by Barroso and is seeking to have this overturned while winning a symbolic one euro in financial compensation.
Dalli agreed verbally to step down after the EU fraud office OLAF said a Maltese entrepreneur used his contacts with the EU's top health official to seek a bribe from a Swedish firm in return for changes to draft tobacco legislation.
Dalli, who categorically denies all wrongdoing, has said Barroso called him in and demanded he resign within the half-hour, denying his request to give him 24 hours.
Dalli has claimed he was set up by the tobacco lobby in order to delay anti-smoking legislation.
Several other top Brussels bureaucrats will be heard by the court, including Barroso's top aide, the head of the Commission's legal departments and Dalli's then assistant and spokesman.