Company at Centre of ''Dalligate'' Probe Reported for Alleged Violation of EU Code of Conduct

Source from:  The Parliament Magazine (be)  04/03/2013

The company at the centre of the so-called 'Dalligate' affair has been reported for alleged violation of the EU's code of conduct for lobbyists, it has emerged.

Swedish Match was reported to the 'Joint Transparency' secretariat, the body set up by the commission and parliament to oversee the EU's register for lobbyists.

The complaint, by Corporate Europe Observatory, accuses Swedish Match of 'unethical' lobbying.

Swedish Match is the tobacco products company which manufactures snus, whose manufacture and sale is banned outside of Sweden by the newly-introduced EU tobacco products directive.

It has been alleged that former EU health commissioner John Dalli knew of an attempt to water down the directive in return for cash. Dalli, who denies any such knowledge, resigned late last year and the case is still the subject of a judicial inquiry in his native Malta.

The CEO complaint specifically accuses Swedish Match representatives of "going to Malta to find Dalli's personal contacts who could enable the company to access the commissioner".

Details of the complaint, seen by this website, also allege that the company hired 'unregistered' lobbyists and 'lied' to MEPs about Dalligate.

The transparency register was set up two years ago in a bid to regulate the activities of the hundreds of lobbyists in Brussels who try to influence draft EU legislation. However, critics have complained that it is relatively toothless as lobby firms are not compelled to register.

A CEO sourcesaid, 'We believe Swedish Match has breached the code.'

The latest development came after a representative of Swedish Match reportedly admitted to French MEP Jose Bové recently that the second of two lobby meetings with Dalli had not in fact taken place.

It was at that meeting where a €60m bribe was allegedly offered to alter the tobacco products directive which, among other things, upholds the EU-wide ban on snus.

CEO has also submitted several new freedom of information requests, including two requests aimed at uncovering more details about Swedish Match lobbyists who went through what CEO calls the 'revolving door' from the EU institutions. This is a reference to EU officials who leave their posts to take up often lucrative positions with lobby firms.

CEO asserts that Swedish Match "public affairs director" Johan Gabrielsson is a former European commission official, and that lawyer Gayle Kimberley, who CEO says was hired by Swedish Match to 'gain access' to Dalli, was previously in the EU council's legal services department in Brussels.

In a letter to the commission, dated 26 March, CEO's Rachel Tansey, says, "Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties I am requesting all documentation relating to decisions made concerning Johan Gabrielsson.

"Specifically, I would like to receive a note of all Gabrielsson's job titles whilst at DG ELARG, including dates held, copies of any application(s) that Gabrielsson made to undertake a new professional activity, and all correspondence, including emails, relating to the authorisation of the role or roles.'

CEO has, in addition, submitted a request 'for all correspondence' between the commission's secretariat-general and Michel Petite, the former head of the executive's legal service, to be made public.

CEO claims that after 'becoming a lawyer for big tobacco' Petite was recently reappointed to the commission's ethical committee.

Ester Arauzo, in charge of communications for CEO, said, "Our request aims to find out if Petite played any role in the commission's handling of Dalligate."

On Friday, Swedish Match issued a statement to this website, accepting a degree of culpability in the Dalli case, saying, "We regret that our lobbyist was not a registered lobbyist, clearly a mistake on our side."

It went on, "However, at no time have we ever lied to anyone, nor been pressured by Olaf."

The statement, by Patrik Hildingsson, of Swedish Match, said, "We have only related and communicated our own first-hand experience. Action like this does little to seek the truth and may only result in an obstructed Maltese judicial process, which no one benefits from." Enditem