Request to lift EU officials’ immunity

Date: 02/05/1996

By Rory Watson

THE Belgian authorities want the immunity of two of the European Commission's most senior officials to be lifted so that they can be questioned in separate investigations.

A spokesman for the Brussels public prosecutor's office confirmed this week that the requests involved Heinrich von Moltke, one of the Commission's directors-general, and Michael Emerson, its former ambassador to Moscow. “The procedures have started in both cases.We have sent off both requests, but I do not know what stage they have reached,” he said.

The Commission insists that it has not yet received either request. But lawyers warn it could take up to a month for the examining magistrate's application to be channelled to the Commission's anti-fraud unit UCLAF through the public prosecutor, the ministry of justice and finally the ministry of foreign affairs.

Two former members of Von Moltke's department were dismissed by the Commission last year and arrested by Belgian police in January after a lengthy inquiry into allegations of corruption in the Commission's tourism unit.

Greek EU official George Tzoanos, his wife and a French expert on secondment to the Commission, Pascal Chatillon, have since been released, but no date has yet been set for their trial.

The Commission has already agreed to lift Von Moltke's professional secrecy obligation so that he can give evidence, along with several other members of staff, to the Belgian judiciary inquiry.

British Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, who has been a persistent critic of the EU's tourism unit, said this week: “I hope that Von Moltke was not involved in the alleged fraud. But clearly he had direct-line responsibility for what took place and at an early stage of the programme, at the beginning of 1990, I told him of my concern.”

Emerson took early retirement from the Commission this year after an internal inquiry was launched into allegations that he used his position to prepare outside business activities in the former Soviet Union. The inquiry is continuing.

In agreeing to Emerson's departure, the Commission publicly rebuked him, but stated it had not found “really serious reasons which would serve as grounds for disciplinary proceedings”.

Even though Emerson has left the Commission, he retains his immunity for all the actions he took while in its service. Unless this is waived, the Belgian police will not be able to question him.

MEPs closely monitoring the Union's activities in the former Soviet Union are taking a keen interest in the outcome of the Emerson investigation.

British Socialist MEP Peter Truscott warned: “Interested members will be pursuing this and will want a full report on what is going on. We would be very upset if the Commission did not keep us informed. So far there has been a distinct lack of Commission transparency.”