Watchdog attacks secrecy in lager probe

Date: 07/12/00

By John Shelley

THE EU's watchdog has fiercely criticised the European Commission for being unnecessarily secretive after it withheld crucial information from a beer importer involved in a competition case.

Ombudsman Jacob Söderman says the executive is guilty of maladministration because it has repeatedly refused to let the director of a UK lager company know the names of people involved in a vital meeting during the investigation.

In a special report to the European Parliament, the strongest sanction available to him, Söderman asks MEPs to force the Commission to release the names.

The Commission argues that it cannot do that because it is obliged to protect the privacy of those involved under EU data protection laws. But Söderman has dismissed this view, saying the legislation was carefully drafted to support openness in Union decision-making and that keeping such information secret is not a fundamental right.

"The Ombudsman therefore considers that the Commission has misunderstood the obligations under the data protection directive and has thereby infringed the principle of openness," states his report. "This is an instance of maladministration."

The chain of events which led to Söderman's ruling began in 1993 when the UK-based Bavarian Lager Company, an importer of German beer, complained to the Commission that restrictive purchasing agreements between breweries and pubs allowed under the UK's 'guest beer provision' infringed EU law by discriminating against imported lagers.

Three years later, the company found out through a press release from the UK department of trade and industry that a meeting was to take place between the Commission, the British authorities and a trade association to discuss the issue.

Following that meeting, to which the original complainant was denied access, UK authorities proposed an amendment to the guest beer provision law, prompting Union competition officials to drop their investigation. When the Bavarian Lager Company's director tried to find out who was at the meeting, the Commission refused to supply names.

"He wants this information because he suspects improper behaviour by certain persons who, at relevant times, were amongst the UK officials and politicians responsible for the brewing industry," states the Ombudsman's report.

A complaint to Söderman's office on the issue prompted a flurry of letters between the watchdog and the Commission. But each time, competition officials have insisted that they cannot release the names of those involved in the meeting without their consent. In several cases, they say, this consent has been asked for but not granted.

As a last resort, Söderman's is asking MEPs to adopt a formal resolution demanding that the Commission identify those involved in the case.

The EU Ombudsman Jacob Söderman has fiercely criticised the European Commission for being unnecessarily secretive after it withheld crucial information from a beer importer involved in a competition case.