Former EU health commissioner John Dalli in a newspaper interview following his surprise resignation complained about the slow pace of reform of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), and said he doesn’t expect agreement on changes until mid-2014.

Dalli said his resignation in October and the time a replacement will need to acquaint him or herself with TPD issues will push back reform. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he complained about delays within the EU prior to his resignation, noting the reform discussions began in 2010.
Dalli’s resignation came after an investigation by the EU fraud unit into allegations by Swedish Match that it had been approached by a Maltese entrepreneur and acquaintance of Dalli’s who asked for “financial advantages” in return for influencing tobacco legislation, in particular the European Union ban on snus. The investigation concluded Dalli at least knew of the contact, and did not report it as he was required to do as commissioner.
In the interview Dalli denied the allegations and said he had been unfairly treated by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Dalli said Barroso gave him only a half-hour to deliberate before he handed in his resignation, and that he has yet to see the full conclusions of the investigation. (pi)