By Simon Taylor
08.09.2008 / 16:12 CET
Senior trade official under suspicion goes on leave as internal and independent investigations begin.
A senior EU official has gone on leave while the European Commission investigates allegations that he passed commercially sensitive information on to undercover journalists, the Commission has said.
Johannes Laitenberger, a spokesman for José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said the official requested leave after the Commission announced late on 5 September that it had launched an investigation to establish the truth of allegations subsequently published in the Sunday Times newspaper.
Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for administrative affairs, said that the official, Fritz-Harald Wenig, will return from what he described as “parental leave” for questioning. The issue of formal suspension will be discussed by the college of commissioners when they meet on 10 September, Kallas said.
The article, which appeared on 7 September, claimed that Wenig, a director in the Commission's directorate-general for trade, had provided reporters posing as lobbyists with information related to companies affected by anti-dumping probes.
Under the Commission's code of conduct, officials should not make “unauthorised disclosure of information received in the line of duty unless that information has already been made public is accessible to the public”.
The official, Fritz-Harald Wenig, has rejected accusations that he passed on commercially sensitive information, claiming that it was “semi-public”. The official did not receive payment for the information provided, although transcripts published by the paper indicate that he discussed the possibility of payment once he had retired from the Commission or “when you [the fake lobbyists] have results”.
The official's case will be investigated by a special team from the Commission's directorate-general for administration.
The Commission's investigation will focus on whether the official broke staff rules on the handling of commercially sensitive information. If found guilty, the official could be suspended and have part of his salary withheld.
The Commission's anti-fraud office, OLAF, will also assess whether the official was guilty of criminal behaviour and whether formal charges should be brought against him. The OLAF investigation is separate from the Commission's internal probe.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/commission-investigating-corruption-claims-/62201.aspx
Bakınız: http://antidamping.blogspot.com/2008/09/avrupa-komisyonu-anti-damping.html
08.09.2008 / 16:12 CET
Senior trade official under suspicion goes on leave as internal and independent investigations begin.
A senior EU official has gone on leave while the European Commission investigates allegations that he passed commercially sensitive information on to undercover journalists, the Commission has said.
Johannes Laitenberger, a spokesman for José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said the official requested leave after the Commission announced late on 5 September that it had launched an investigation to establish the truth of allegations subsequently published in the Sunday Times newspaper.
Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for administrative affairs, said that the official, Fritz-Harald Wenig, will return from what he described as “parental leave” for questioning. The issue of formal suspension will be discussed by the college of commissioners when they meet on 10 September, Kallas said.
The article, which appeared on 7 September, claimed that Wenig, a director in the Commission's directorate-general for trade, had provided reporters posing as lobbyists with information related to companies affected by anti-dumping probes.
Under the Commission's code of conduct, officials should not make “unauthorised disclosure of information received in the line of duty unless that information has already been made public is accessible to the public”.
The official, Fritz-Harald Wenig, has rejected accusations that he passed on commercially sensitive information, claiming that it was “semi-public”. The official did not receive payment for the information provided, although transcripts published by the paper indicate that he discussed the possibility of payment once he had retired from the Commission or “when you [the fake lobbyists] have results”.
The official's case will be investigated by a special team from the Commission's directorate-general for administration.
The Commission's investigation will focus on whether the official broke staff rules on the handling of commercially sensitive information. If found guilty, the official could be suspended and have part of his salary withheld.
The Commission's anti-fraud office, OLAF, will also assess whether the official was guilty of criminal behaviour and whether formal charges should be brought against him. The OLAF investigation is separate from the Commission's internal probe.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/commission-investigating-corruption-claims-/62201.aspx
Bakınız: http://antidamping.blogspot.com/2008/09/avrupa-komisyonu-anti-damping.html
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