His master’s voice

Date: 09/05/1996

HE is the very embodiment of a successful and dedicated European civil servant. Born in one country, educated in another and working in a third, he is fluent in four languages. Yet even after more than 30 years' service in the Commission, an air of mystery still surrounds Klaus van der Pas.

Colleagues describe him variously as “enigmatic”, “a chameleon”, “a typical product of this house” and “a private person who does not mix business and pleasure”.

Few know that Van Der Pas embarked on his career as a lowly clerical officer without a university degree in the Commission's information office in The Hague.

Now he is its chief spokesman and spin doctor, responsible for projecting the institution's thoughts and policies to the world's media - and defending its fragile image against attacks. Rarely has the latter role been more vital than in the last month, when an outbreak of hysteria in the British press in the wake of the decision to impose a world-wide ban on UK beef exports prompted a rash of sensationalist anti-EU reporting.

Even those with long memories cannot recall another example of an official, even one with his ability and a voracious appetite for work, advancing from a 'C' grade to one of the most senior 'A' posts in the rigidly hierarchical Commission.

Born in Germany, with a Dutch name and flawless German, Dutch, French and English, it is almost impossible to pin a nationality on Van Der Pas.

This may make him a perfect citizen of the Union, but can cause problems, as one colleague explains: “The Germans consider him Dutch and as far as the Dutch are concerned he has a German passport.”

Van Der Pas dismisses the issue as of no consequence. But that sort of nit-picking can affect promotion prospects when governments jealously guard the number of senior posts held by their own nationals and may explain why his promotion to the A2 post of director in March 1993 was not made permanent for 18 months.

Some spokesmen achieve a certain notoriety. The aptly named Larry Speakes, ebullient Gennady Gerasimov and brusque Bernard Ingham all fell into that category when they served Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher.

But Van Der Pas is unlikely to join them. He prefers self-control to self-publicity.

Colleagues concede he is not the most outward going person and his sardonic humour often carries a more serious underlying message. But they add: “You do not need a stand-up comedian in this job. He is absolutely fair, unflappable and with a strong sense of justice and fairness.”

Van Der Pas insists, for example, that his team of spokemen treat journalists' requests for information equally, whether they represent a technical publication or a large national daily newspaper. Nor, unlike in the past, are sections of the Brussels press corps given preferential treatment.

With the Union in frequent agony over contentious issues ranging from French nuclear testing to mad cow disease, Van Der Pas' defence of Commission behaviour can bring attacks raining down on his head.

But after aggressive personal criticism in the French National Assembly last autumn, he confided to colleagues that it was better to be insulted than ignored and jokingly announced he would frame the newspaper report of the debate.

Almost the whole of Van Der Pas' professional career has been bound up with the Commission, providing him with a unique insight into the whirlpools which can drown the unwary.

For his first 15 years in Brussels, Van Der Pas' world revolved around the first floor press room in the Commission's old Berlaymont headquarters. His genuine popularity with journalists was based on accessibility, a readiness to share his knowledge of the most complex agricultural issues and his office's location as the one closest to the press bar. “He was highly appreciated, particularly in the early days of the Common Agricultural Policy. Whenever we did not understand something - no matter how senior or junior we were - he would take time to explain it, even drawing diagrams to make intricate issues like monetary compensatory amounts understandable,” remembers one journalist.

Despite being recognised as one of the most efficient members of the spokesman's group, Van Der Pas, without a university degree, remained a 'B' grade. But he opened the door to promotion by following evening classes at the university college of Saint Louis in Brussels and emerging in 1980 with a degree in trade and consular studies.

It was not, however, until he left the spokesman's group in 1985 that Van Der Pas' career really began to take off. After four years working with the Belgian External Affairs Commissioner Willy De Clercq, a year as advisor on the environment and foreign policy to the then Commission President Jacques Delors gave him the perfect launch-pad.

This led to promotion and responsibility for handling the Union's negotiations with the European Free Trade Association to create the 18-nation European Economic Area (EEA).

The successful exercise brought him honours from grateful governments. The Finns made him an Officer of the White Rose of Finland and Iceland bestowed on him the title of Commander of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. It also gave him an invaluable insight into the countries concerned and made him well placed to play a pivotal role in the subsequent EU membership negotiations, where he had the Swedish geographical brief and sectoral responsibility for the internal market and the environment.

“He was extraordinarily efficient and hard working, and helped to engineer the first real movement in the enlargement negotiations. The train was firmly stuck in the sidings, but it began to roll towards the end of 1993 when a deal was worked out for all four applicants on environmental standards,” recalls a fellow EU negotiator.

The Nordics also appreciated his search for pragmatic solutions. “Our people opposite him certainly respected him. He was known as a man who knew his dossiers and took his job seriously. He would seek answers, not look for problems,” says one official.

Van Der Pas was then presented with the daunting task of bringing order to the EU's relations with the former Soviet Union. He relished the challenge of tackling a specific and complex policy area, and faced a genuine predicament when incoming Commission President Jacques Santer asked him to become his spokesman.

The move meant abandoning a post he enjoyed and had occupied for less than a year, and returning to the press room he had left a decade earlier.

He soon suffered two setbacks. He and Santer lost their early attempt to restrict the size of the spokesman's group by persuading two Commissioners to share one member. Then Van Der Pas, who had made no secret of his view that ex-journalists did not necessarily make the best spokesmen, had to accept seven in the new intake.

Since his return, Van Der Pas has tried to make the spokesman's service more accessible and user-friendly.

Some practical innovations reflect his emphasis on efficient management. It includes the handing out of a daily summary of documentation, a practical guide to the press facilities available to Brussels-based journalists, including the names and phone numbers of the relevant spokesmen on press releases, and the production of an internal guide on how to write press releases.

One change in particular has been highly political. English has been been given equal status with French in the press room, ending a tradition going back to 1957 of briefings in French only. With the growing number of foreign correspondents in Brussels, the move was long overdue. That Van Der Pas achieved the transition without an outburst of French petulance was a tribute to his political deftness.

Sightings of the Commission spokesman outside his working environment are rare. He is married with two sons. Walking is one of his main interests and has taken him from England's Lake District to the Swiss Alps. When time permits, he is a keen runner with at least one marathon under his belt and close colleagues testify to his passion for reading and interest in literature, philosophy and music.

Last Christmas, Van Der Pas celebrated the end of his first year in the new job in typically individualistic style.While many senior officials were relaxing in ski resorts, he went trekking in the deserts of North Africa. There was not a journalist in sight.