Union calls for probe into sacking of Parliament aide

Date: 14/02/02

By Martin Banks

A TRADE union has demanded an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of a senior civil servant by a minority group in the European Parliament.

The call is the latest development in the long-running case of Irishman Patrick Reynolds, who was sacked as secretary-general of the eurosceptic Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group 18 months ago.

Reynolds, who had been in the top A2-grade post for just six months, was asked to return to his former job, on a much lower grade, in the Parliament's directorate-general for information.

But he refused and, instead, appealed against the decision to the Court of First Instance. Last month, the court in Luxembourg upheld his appeal and awarded him symbolic damages of 1 euro.

The two institutions are now locked in a legal wrangle after the court said the Parliament's administrative authorities should have checked the legality of the EDD's decision to sever Reynolds' contract.

But assembly officials say the judgement sets a precedent, arguing they are not empowered to question decisions on staffing taken by political groups.

They are now considering an appeal.

Reynolds has been on paid sick leave since his secondment to the EDD post was summarily ended in July 2000.

He did not wish to comment but papers seen by European Voice, and put before the court, reveal the full scale of his bitter fall-out with the EDD group, particularly its leader, Danish MEP Jens-Peter Bonde.

In them, Reynolds says: 'Bonde presents the image of a bluff, good-humoured, open-minded character - a decent chap, in other words.

'Many people are taken in by this image. In reality, he is ruthless and devious. Having persuaded me to take the job with his group, he then dropped me like a hot potato immediately he felt his personal interests were threatened.'

Bonde responded by saying yesterday (13 February) there was nothing personal about the decision to end Reynolds' secondment.

He said: 'I am surprised by these comments because I liked him personally. The simple truth of the matter is that a majority in the group felt he just wasn't up to the job as secretary-general.'

Reynolds joined the Council of Ministers in 1980 and then became a Parliament official in 1992.

His case has been taken up by the European Civil Service Federation (FFPE), which has described the way the matter has been dealt with so far as 'a huge waste of time and money' and appealed to European Parliament President Pat Cox to investigate.

Allan Tomlins, deputy treasurer of the union's parliamentary branch, said: 'Reynolds was sacked without warning, without explanation and during his absence on sick leave.

'We believe this could have been handled totally differently from day one, without untold cost to the European taxpayer.'

Parliament spokesman David Harley said: 'We feel an appeal would be in order to clarify things for the future.

'It is Parliament's belief that political groups should be responsible for their own staff, and not Parliament's secretary-general.

'If, as happened in this case, a political group chooses to dismiss someone, it is a legal responsibility for that group.'

A trade union has demanded an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of a senior civil servant by a minority group in the European Parliament.