Whilst refraining from passing judgement about the Dalli saga which is being investigated by the Advocate General after OLAF's findings, whatever the outcome the fact remains that we, as a Nation, have been brought to shame. Suffice to say that this is the first time an EU Commissioner is resigning on his own because of allegations of wrong-doing. One cannot but feel saddened by hearing Malta's name being associated with such dealings. Irrelevant of the fact whether Dalli acted illegally or not, he is deemed to have acted unethically and his position has become untenable. It is normal practice for politicians under investigation to resign from their posts. Justifying behaviour with the wrong Maltese culture that "it's the usual political game in Malta...having friends who need something", is even more denigrating for our country, especially coming from a seasoned politician. The fact that no law might have been broken does not mean the behaviour was correct, ethical and serious. Calls for Parliament to debate this state of affairs before the Attorney General finishes his investigations are completely irresponsible, as are outright condemnations and blind-folded justifications. Trials by media rarely lead to a just assessment, as a recent case clearly showed. We should let justice take its course.
This case has certainly brought back up for discussion the issue of lobbying within the EU. Lobbying is the way in which organizations and stakeholders attempt to influence decision-making bodies, mainly legislators and regulatory agencies. Some hold lobbying in a bad light, some say it is necessary for everyone's voice to be heard.
I think lobbying puts politicians and policy-makers on very treacherous ground. No matter how many transparency regulations are adopted (and various calls have been made for the EU to tighten its lobbying rules), facts are that the access to lobbying, and thus to influence policy-making, is becoming dependent on the lobby's financial means.
That's why I believe that too much centralized power, too much big government, always ends up favouring big business at the detriment of the ordinary citizens and smaller enterprises. Not necessarily in exchange for money, but maybe in exchange of praise, influence or political campaign financing. It happens in the United States Congress (case in point is the repeated extension to Copyright terms which go contrary to the spirit of the US Constitution and which have harshly limited free innovation and creativity in the past century), and it is happening in the EU with the increase of centralized power shifting towards Brussels.
The EU we joined was a union of free trade, co-operation, and sharing of resources. It wasn't a union of harmonized taxation rules, a million directives, and certainly not a Federal one. It needs to be careful as to where it is going, and we need to be careful as to how much of our sovereignty it makes sense for us to cede.
I wish to take this opportunity to augur Dr. Tonio Borg for his nomination to be the new Maltese EU Commissioner. I am sure that with his integrity and honesty he can do a great job in restoring Malta's good name and reputation.
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