Commissioners open their books

Date: 18/02/1999

By Gareth Harding

MEPs have welcomed the decision by European Commissioners to make details of their financial interests public, but have questioned why it has taken them over three years to do so.

"Jacques Santer gave us a timetable for reform of the Commission and he is sticking to it," said UK Socialist member Alan Donnelly, although he added that it had "taken Commissioners a while to realise theirs is an overtly political role".

Commissioners drew up their first code of conduct in November 1995, following a scandal involving royalties which Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard received for a diary published after her first year in office.

The code stated that these top officials could have no other job, accept no money for giving speeches, and must declare any travel and lodging costs paid for by the organisers of an event.

Those rules have not been changed by Commissioners. However, they agreed this week to make a declaration of their financial interests publicly available on the Internet for the first time. Previously, the information was only available on request.

A report will also be sent to the European Parliament, where it is likely to be pored over by MEPs eager to unearth evidence of any wrongdoing by President Santer's team.

Liberal Group leader Pat Cox said that it was "difficult to judge the effectiveness of the code of conduct if there is no evaluation of its work". However, the Irish MEP added that the declaration of members' interests would be "useful" when the assembly conducts senate-style hearings with would-be members of the new Commission team which is due to take office in January.

The day before the decision was taken to put Commissioner's financial interests on the Web, Education and Research Commissioner Edith Cresson became embroiled in further controversy after the institution's fraud-busting unit UCLAF confirmed that it had identified fraudulent activities in her department.

UK Liberal MEP Graham Watson called on the embattled Commissioner to resign, arguing that "her dogged determination to remain in office is tarnishing the reputation of her colleagues in the Commission, the institution as a whole and her country".