European Commissioner
Dalli was appointed European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy in the second mandate of the Barroso Commission where he was given the Health and Consumer Policy portfolio.
As with his tenure as Maltese Minister, he has been subject to a number of controversies. Some of the most notable included authorisations regarding the genetically modified Amflora, the publication of a diary for schools which included holidays of various religions except for Christian holidays and, during the 2011 Libyan civil war, when he made pro-Gaddafi remarks. These remarks were attributed to the various business interests and links Dalli had in Libya and put him out-of-step with President Barroso. He had to issue an apology.
Dalli resigned as Commissioner in October 2012 following an OLAF report 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.
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