Wise men push for end to ‘buck-passing’

Date: 25/03/1999

By Gareth Harding and Tim Jones

THE committee of wise men whose report into EU fraud and mismanagement triggered the European Commission's downfall last week has pledged to end the institution's culture of 'buck-passing'.

Following their controversial claim that it was hard to find anyone in the Commission who "had even the slightest sense of responsibility", the experts look set to recommend far-reaching changes to ensure a clear distinction between responsibility for policy and implementation, in their follow-up report.

One of the five committee members, former European Court of Justice Advocate-General Walter van Gerven, told European Voice this week that the committee would look closely at recent initiatives in the UK designed to clarify the respective responsibilities of ministers and civil servants.

" A lot of Commissioners have been politicians and they are only used to being responsible for policy-making. Somewhere they should be responsible for implementation and that should be clarified," said the Belgian lawyer.

These proposals would make the College of Commissioners more like a cabinet-style government and are broadly in line with recent French, Nordic, Dutch and British suggestions for reforming the institution. Coincidentally, this process has already begun with the decision taken at this week's Berlin summit to give Commission President-designate Romano Prodi a say in choosing the team to serve under him.

Earlier this week, UK Premier Tomy Blair unveiled a paper calling for a "radical change" in the Commission's management structure. Its proposals included holding directors-general responsible for efficient management in their policy areas and making them accountable to the European Parliament. It also suggested putting one of the Commission's vice-presidents in charge of reforming the institution's management, personnel and budgets.

Blair's call for reform has been echoed by Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who told European Voice that replacing the current Commission team was only a first step. "The whole administration needs to be modernised," she said.

Many of the UK government's ideas are likely to be taken up by the committee of experts when it presents its second report on the institution in September. This will include concrete recommendations for changes.

This week, MEPs broadened the remit of the committee's investigations, calling on it to carry out "a more wide-ranging review of the Commission's culture, practices and procedures", including how financial contracts are awarded and temporary staff taken on.

However, the Parliament's move has angered some senior Commission officials, who claim that the new terms of reference are "extremely vague and unclear" and suggest that this might discourage the institution from cooperating fully with the committee. One said Commissioners would consider "to what extent" they would cooperate with the second phase of the investigation at a meeting next week.

The Parliament's Socialist Group leader Pauline Green has already warned the Commission not to obstruct the work of the committee. The British Labour MEP said she was "suspicious" of some people's motives. "It could be very convenient for some if the independent group of experts were to be prevented from delving in the required detail into the workings of the different directorates-general," she added.

Ironically, one of the consequences of the Commission's mass resignation is that outgoing President Jacques Santer's plans to shake up the institution have fallen victim to the general freeze on new policy initiatives while the current team remains in place. These include promised rules on nominating top officials and a code of conduct for outside contractors.

However, in the long run, the reform process is likely to be speeded up. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer promised MEPs this week that the presidency would submit proposals to resolve the institutional issues left out of the Amsterdam Treaty at the June summit in Cologne. These are likely to include cutting the number of Commissioners and streamlining their portfolios.