John Dalli resigned as Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy in October 2012 following an European Anti-fraud Officereport which claimed that a Maltese lobbyist had approached the tobacco producer Swedish Match and proposed to make use of his contacts with Dalli to fix the EU export ban on chewing tobacco (snus).The report claimed that, while Dalli was not involved, he knew what was going on.

This news is particularly important for people living in EU: the Commissioner for Health cant’ be accused of behavior against Public Health! It is a contradiction of terms. If the facts will be confirmed, a large shadow threatens to undermine the confidence of citizens in Europe. In many occasions, John Dalli stated that patients' rights are a priority for Europe.  “As European citizens, we do not accept that rights can be affirmed in theory, but then denied in practice”: this declaration is part of the European Charter of Patients’ Rights preamble. Today it's appropriate to remember.

By Teresa Petrangolini, Director of ACN