Environment agency rejects candidates for senior post

Date: 21/03/02

By David Cronin

THE European Environment Agency (EEA) has dealt a surprise blow to the Commission by refusing to accept its two proposed candidates for the body's top post.

Neither of the short-listed individuals received the necessary two-thirds majority backing from the Copenhagen-based EEA's management board after it interviewed them last week.

Officials say the board's unexpected move was in protest at the restrictive procedure which the Commission followed in trying to find a replacement for the agency's current executive director, Domingo Jiménez-Beltrán.

Just 37 people applied for his job, due to become vacant when he retires in May. The poor response has been blamed on the decision to advertise the vacancy only in the EU's little-read Official Journal.

The board has now asked Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström for 'the publication of a new call for applications for the post, based on broader criteria in a wider range of printed and electronic media'. She has agreed.

A senior environment official said that a decision is due to be taken this week on whether Jiménez-Beltrán's contract can be temporarily extended.

The most likely scenario, though, is that his deputy Gordon McInnes will take over in an acting capacity until a final selection is made - something that may not happen until the last few months of this year.

Some officials fear that making a stop-gap appointment could raise legal questions.

The main rules covering the EEA's activities simply state its board should appoint its executive director based on a proposal from the Commission.

'The regulation doesn't say anything about interim solutions if the board decides not to accept a proposal,' remarked one official. 'This needs clarification from the Commission.'

According to the official, the board's decision is being interpreted both as a rap on the knuckles for the Commission and as a signal of dissatisfaction with the calibre of the two candidates on the short list.

European Voice has learned that neither is currently working for the Commission.

• EEA chief Domingo Jiménez-Beltrán has voiced his dismay at how environmental issues 'seem to have been sidelined' during last weekend's Barcelona summit. In a statement issued yesterday (20 March), he said the environment was 'generally ignored' at Barcelona, where EU leaders focused on the objective of making the Union the world's most competitive economy.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has dealt a surprise blow to the European Commission by refusing to accept its two proposed candidates for the body's top post.