The European Ombudsman is on Thursday (4 March) to censure the European Commission for refusing to release correspondence between itself and German car manufacturer Porsche.
In an excoriating report to the European Parliament seen by EUobserver, the ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, accuses the EU executive of failing to co-operate with him in good faith and ultimately of undermining the rule of law.
«The commission’s unco-operative attitude in this regard risks eroding citizens' trust in the commission and undermining the capacity of the European Obmudsman and the European Parliament adequately and effectively to supervise the commission," the report says.
«As such, it runs counter to the very principle of the rule of law on which the union is founded."
It is the first time since the 1995 establishment of the office of the ombudsman, who investigates citizen’s complaints about maladministration in the European Union, that the bureau has turned to the parliament for help to pressure the commission in this way.
The EU executive is required to comply under the EU Treaty.
In 2007, at the height of a furious battle between green groups and car companies over whether the EU should legislate on carbon emissions from cars or accept voluntary pledges from industry, Friends of the Earth asked the commission for access to documents relating to meetings between then-industry commissioner Guenter Verheugen and car manufacturers.
According to the ombudsman’s report, the commission only gave partial access: It released 15 letters, but refused to hand over three letters from Porshe to commissioner Verheugen.
Fifteen months ago, the ombudsman told the commission in an official recommendation to release the three texts. After repeatedly stonewalling, by requesting a total of six extensions in complying with the ombudsman’s request, the commission finally accepted the recommendation at the end of September 2009.
But the letters have still not been released, with the EU executive now saying it is unable to comply due to ongoing consultations with Porsche over the disclosure.
The ombudsman’s report does not accept the argument: «The need to allow Porsche to exercise its legal rights cannot justify its extraordinary delay," it says.
The report adds that the commission told Mr Diamandouros that it had decided to write to Porsche about its intention to disclose the documents, but it has not yet done so.
According to sources close to his office, the Greek official is «completely fed up» with the commission.
Something to hide?
It is not clear what is actually contained in the letters.
Paul de Clerck, of the original complainant, Friends of the Earth, told EUobserver why they had made the information request in the first place:
«It dates back to the time when the commission was just repeatedly accepting voluntary agreements from the companies that they would work to reduce emissions," he said. «They were accepting these promises over and over, even when it was blatantly obvious that they were doing nothing."
«We were hoping to find some sort of information as to why the commission was taking this stance, some sort of language between the commission and the car companies showing this, some statement or promise to never go beyond the voluntary level."
«It’s a moot point now, because the EU does now have binding emissions reduction targets for cars, but that’s no longer the point. It’s now about access to information whatever is contained in the letters.»
02/28/2010
— Filed under: Business
Tags: EU, Porsche
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Greece is prepared to turn to the International Monetary Fund for help if its European neighbours fail to provide the financial assistance it wants after announcing the toughest spending cuts in decades.
George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, will on Friday tackle Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel during talks in Berlin before heading to Paris to meet Nicolas Sarkozy and then to Washington next week to see Barack Obama on an international mission to drum up support for the crisis-hit country.
His government is braced for another wave of strikes after it imposed a freeze on pensions on Wednesday, further cuts in public sector pay and increases in value-added tax and duties on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes.
Mr Papandreou said that the latest austerity package, the third in three months, fulfilled Greece’s commitment to its eurozone partners to bring its soaring deficit under control. The country’s debt crisis has caused turmoil in bond markets, with investors worried that it could spread to other weak eurozone members.
«We have shown we can take difficult decisions. We are waiting for European support — the other side of the agreement,» Mr Papandreou said.
During a cabinet meeting, he told ministers that Greece could turn to the IMF for an emergency loan if its EU partners were unable to deliver adequate assistance, a senior government official said. Other eurozone countries have been adamantly opposed to IMF involvement.
Germany welcomed Greece’s decision to tighten fiscal policy but stressed financial aid would not be on the table when Mr Papandreou visited Berlin. Ms Merkel said the meeting «isn’t about aid commitments but about good relations between Greece and Germany».
Officials in Berlin said that Germany considered Greece to be «liquid till the end of March» with the real test of confidence coming in late April or May when it has to roll over about €22bn of debt.
The European Commission responded to calls for tighter scrutiny of credit derivatives after the sell-off in Greek financial markets. It has summoned banks and regulators to a meeting this week to discuss regulation of sovereign credit default swaps , a form of insurance against the risk of default on government bonds.
«Full and timely implementation of fiscal measures, along with decisive structural reforms… is paramount,» Mr Juncker said. «It is as well important for the overall financial stability of the euro area.»
The Commission endorsed the new Greek measures, saying the country was now on track to meet ambitious targets for budget deficit reduction this year and could count on EU solidarity.
«Greece’s ambitious programme to correct its fiscal imbalances is now on track,» José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, said in a statement.
In an almost identical statement, Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup of finance ministers, also praised the new plan.
«Full and timely implementation of fiscal measures, along with decisive structural reforms… is paramount,» Mr Juncker said. «It is as well important for the overall financial stability of the euro area.»
Olli Rehn, the EU’s economics and monetary affairs commissioner, said he believed the Greek measures were — or could become — a turning point in the crisis. He said that he was particularly encouraged by Greece’s move to tackle expenditure side.
The commissioner, who was in Athens on Monday, added that he had «a very strong sense of the determination and unity in the Greek government to reform the country».
Wednesday’s announcement comes as Greece prepares to return to international markets to roll over about €10bn of debt due to expire in April.
The US Department of Justice is taking a closer look at trading against the euro. It has told hedge funds to preserve trading records and e-mails about euro-related derivative trades.
Additional reporting by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
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02/27/2010
— Filed under: Finance
Tags: Greec, IMF
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02/26/2010
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: Greece, Papandreou
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— Filed under: Finance
Tags: Bank of England, Kate Barker
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— Filed under: Crime
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— Filed under: Business
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Last December the European Parliament adopted the final EU budget for 2010, which will be €141,4 billion in commitments and €122,9 billion in payments. In this focus we look at how the EU budget is adopted, how the money is collected and how it is used.
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— Filed under: Finance
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— Filed under: Society
Tags: Brussel, EU, train crash
The Dutch government collapsed on Saturday, prompting an election, after the ruling coalition failed to reconcile deep divisions within the cabinet that had emerged over extending military operations in Afghanistan.
02/20/2010
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: Afghan, Dutch, government
The euro fell to almost nine-month lows against the dollar today as investors speculated that a meeting between eurozone finance ministers tonight would fail to result in a plan to bail out debt-laden Greece.
02/15/2010
— Filed under: Finance
Tags: budget deficit, Euro, eurozone, Greece
