Brüner determined to stay but must face competition for OLAF top job

By David Cronin

Date: 03/02/05

Franz-Hermann Brüner has had a turbulent five years as head of the European Commission's anti-fraud office OLAF. Yet, despite facing accusations ranging from forgery to orchestrating the arrest of a journalist, the former German prosecutor appears determined to stay in the job.

Officially, his term as OLAF director-general expires on 31 March. But when the closing date for applications from staff within the EU institutions expired on 20 January, just one candidate for the imminent vacancy had emerged: Brüner himself.

Rather than exercise its right to re-appoint Brüner, the Commission has decided to open up the competition to outside candidates by publishing details of the vacancy in major European newspapers. It was advertised internally on 22 December.

A statement by Anti-Fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas that there must be a "true and credible competition" for the post has been welcomed in the European Parliament.

Austrian Socialist MEP Herbert Bösch recalls that the assembly urged the Commission in late 2003 to ensure that the vacancy was advertised publicly long in advance of the 1 March 2005 deadline. "I'm happy that the Commission is finally following the view of the Parliament," he says. "It's better late than never."

Dutch MEP Paul van Buitenen was instrumental in having OLAF set up in 1999. Then a financial controller in the Commission, his investigations into fraud triggered the resignation en masse of the then Commission president Jacques Santer's administration, prompting the EU executive to set up a fully-fledged anti-fraud office. As part of OLAF's mandate, it is supposed to have operational autonomy, while working under the political tutelage of the Commission.

"The head of OLAF should by definition be independent," says van Buitenen. "It should, therefore, be open to public prosecutors and judges all over Europe to apply for the post. But if you advertise internally, it is evident that Mr Brüner will be the only one with the required experience. That is a ridiculous position."

Van Buitenen admits he will be disappointed if Brüner ends up securing a renewed mandate. "I don't think he will be a suitable candidate, given his track record over the last five years. That's my personal opinion," he says.

Brüner has persistently struck a defiant note when faced with criticism. In the latest annual report for his office, he defends OLAF's role in the controversy surrounding the arrest of Hans-Martin Tillack, then the Brussels correspondent with German newspaper Stern. While Tillack and his supporters maintain that the evidence that Tillack had bribed an OLAF official to obtain classified documents was threadbare, aides to Brüner say he was duty-bound under the regulations covering his work to refer the allegations to the Belgian police.

But Brüner has also been embroiled in an acerbic spat with EU Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros. The citizens' watchdog last year implied that Brüner's signature had been forged on a document relating to allegations of the misuse of EU funds by the French hydraulics firm Blue Dragon. Brüner rejected that claim, as well as calls from Diamandouros that he reopen a probe into the Blue Dragon affair, which had been closed in 2002. "It is not OLAF's role, after reasonable scrutiny of the facts, to pursue further unfounded complaints simply because the complainants prefer lobbying in Brussels to taking legal proceedings in the competent national courts," Brüner wrote in his annual report.

Perhaps his most bruising row, though, has been with the man tasked with keeping an eye on him. Raymond Kendall, the former Interpol chief who now heads the OLAF supervisory committee, has complained that Tillack was arrested on the basis of "hearsay" and that Brüner showed scant regard for the reporter's rights - a claim that the latter has rebutted.

Most members of the Parliament's budgetary control committee have sided with Kendall in the dispute. One exception, however, is Christian Democrat Lorenzo Cesa.

The Italian deputy is awaiting a response to a Parliamentary question in which he asks the Commission if it is aware that some members of the supervisory committee are engaged in "lobbying activities" within the EU institutions to have Brüner replaced. Cesa also refers to reports that have surfaced in the French press, suggesting that Kendall resorted to favouritism during his time as Interpol director-general (1985-2000). In particular, it is alleged that he awarded his wife a contract as an advisor on money-laundering.

Cesa has previously complained about how the committee, which holds monthly meetings, is based in Luxembourg, 250km away from OLAF's headquarters in Brussels. The Italian deputy estimates that this arrangement sets the taxpayer back €100,000 per year in unnecessary travel costs. He also suggests the only reason for the Luxembourg location is that the committee's secretary Jean Darras did not wish to live in Belgium.

Darras has denied that claim. When contacted by European Voice, he said that he did not wish to add to the controversy caused by Cesa's latest remarks by commenting on them. Kendall did not return calls from this newspaper.

An intriguing aside is that if Brüner succeeds in having his mandate renewed, he will soon be rid of his nemesis. Kendall and the other four members of the supervisory board have already gone through two terms since the committee's inception and are barred from having a third. EU diplomats have just begun discussing the composition of the new committee, which is supposed to take up its duties in August.

And even if he loses out, Brüner could be sticking around in Brussels for a while longer. If the Commission did decide to replace him, it would struggle to find someone who could take up the job in March at such short notice. Commission sources say that if an interim solution is required, the usual procedure would be that Brüner or another senior OLAF figure would fill the post temporarily.

Article reports on the appointment of a director-general for OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, until 20 March 2005. The European Commission in January 2005 decided to open up competition for the position to outside candidates after internal advertising did not produce any competitors to sitting director-general Franz-Hermann Brüner.