| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.7, 26.2.04 |
| Publication Date | 26/02/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 26/02/04 INTERNAL Reform Commissioner Neil Kinnock has insisted a decision to demote one of the most controversial senior officials in the institution was motivated purely by the need for an internal reshuffle before the imminent influx of staff from the new member states. Under the move, Jean-Paul Mingasson will step down as director-general for enterprise in October to become an 'hors classe' advisor. In the past few years, a number of high-ranking officials have been downgraded to advisory status after falling foul of commissioners or becoming embroiled in scandals. Mingasson, a 62-year-old Frenchman, has clashed with advocates of reform in the EU institutions on a number of occasions. In his previous role as director-general for budget, he dismissed concerns raised by Jules Muis, the head of the Commission's internal audit service, about the computer-based accounting system used to handle the EU's €100 billion annual budget. In a letter to Muis, Mingasson described the procedure under which the European Parliament can refuse to sign off the EU's budget if it has serious concerns about lax controls as an "inter-institutional game". Mingasson is also known to have had a tetchy relationship with Marta Andreasen, who was removed from her post as the Commission's accounting officer in 2002 after alerting MEPs and the Court of Auditors to weaknesses in its bookkeeping system. Persistent rumours in the EU institutions suggest that Kinnock wished to have Mingasson removed from the Commission altogether by invoking a 'golden handshake' procedure known in Brussels' circles as 'Article 50', after the relevant clause in the staff regulations for the EU civil service. However, Kinnock yesterday (25 February) sought to scotch those claims, instead saying that the move was part of a drive to ensure an even distribution of top Commission jobs among officials from the 25 states that will soon encompass the Union. "Mr Mingasson's movement is related directly to the preparations for enlargement and the coming need to meet the obligations of overall geographical balance," he told European Voice. Asked if there was any credence in claims that he wished to use the Article 50 mechanism, Kinnock said: "The Commission does not comment on speculation about possible approaches to the early retirement of senior members of staff. No responsible employer would do that." Mingasson did not return calls from this newspaper. The announcement of his move last week was part of a reorganization under which 120 senior and middle-management posts at the Commission will be earmarked for officials from the ten states due to join the Union on 1 May. Among the five current 'hors classe' advisors are Yves Franchet, ex-head of data agency Eurostat, who has been accused of the 'vast looting' of EU funds in a file sent to a Paris prosecutor, and Santiago Gómez-Reino, former director of the Commission's humanitarian office, ECHO, who was cleared in an internal inquiry in 1999 of allegedly turning a blind eye to the abuse of aid earmarked for Africa and the Balkans.
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
