Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1173510
03.10.19 4 NEWS MASSIMO COSTA HELENA Dalli, Malta's Commission- er-designate, faced a European Parlia- ment grilling yesterday, which saw her answer questions on issues including Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder and abortion rights. Dalli, like all other proposed mem- bers of the Commission, underwent a confirmation hearing, which see nomi- nees being evaluated and their compe- tences put to the test. In a series of hearings being held be- tween 30 September and 8 October, each of the 26 commissioner candi- dates is asked difficult questions, which they will have to answer to the MEPs' satisfaction if they are to be confirmed. While Dalli undoubtedly had to an- swer some uncomfortable questions, the baggage of some other nominees to the European Commission appears to be much bigger than hers. Chief amongst these might be the scandal hanging over Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission's President-elect. Von der Leyen was the longest-serv- ing member of Angela Merkel's cab- inet, most recently having served as German defence minister before her nomination to the Commission. Her critics say she still has left ques- tions unanswered on claims that lucra- tive contracts from her ministry were awarded to outside consultants with- out the necessary oversight. ese claims are being looked into by a German parliamentary investigative committee, which is also in- vestigating whether von der Leyen had in place a network of person- al connections who facilitated the deals. e consult- ant scandal first came to public light in autumn 2018, through leaked internal re- ports by Germany's Federal Audit Office. e watchdog detailed several irregularities when it came to the defence ministry hiring exter- nal consultants. It analysed 56 out of a total of 375 contracts awarded to consultants in 2015 and 2016, finding that, in the vast majority of cases, the defence ministry failed to provide sufficient justification for deciding that external advice was needed. Moreover, in over a third of cases, the normal rules for awarding contracts were not abided by. Last year, von der Leyen told the Ger- man parliament that "mistakes" had been made in the way external con- sultants were hired. "is should never have happened," she said. She went on to defend the use of the consultants, however, maintaining that it was necessary to hire them in order to put into effect a massive overhaul of her ministry. She also placed the blame for the is- sue on a combination of negligence, the taking of inappropriate shortcuts and mistakes by over-worked staff. ose critical of her, however, claim the real explanation is no so simple, alleging that some consultants had preferred access to ministry officials which help them get around rules and win contracts running into the mil- lions of euro. Von der Leyen is expected to pres- ent her College of Commissioners and programme before the Euro- pean Parliament on 23 October. She will have to obtain the sup- port of a majority of votes to be officially confirmed as Commis- sion chief, in which case she will assume office on 1 November. Even if she is confirmed, she will still have to face the claims against her. Tobias Linder, a German MP and security policy spokesperson for the Greens said that, whatever position von der Leyen will occupy, this would not change that fact that the parlia- mentary committee will subpoena and question her. "What happened in the past in the defense ministry under her leadership happened — and we will get to the bottom of that," Linder told Politico in July. Doubts about other nominees Rovana Plumb and Laszlo Trócsányi, Romania's and Hungary's nominees respective- ly, have already been rejected, with the European Parlia- ment's Legal Affairs commit- tee concluding on Monday that they were not fit for the job due to a conflict of in- terest. Plumb was in line to become transport commissioner, while Trócsányi, was slated to become commissioner responsible for the EU enlargement. e spotlight was placed on Plumb over loans she took out in the past, while Trócsányi was asked about a le- gal firm he established in 1991. Both denied having any conflicts of interest or having done anything wrong. Shadows have also been cast over Sylvie Goulard, the French Commis- sioner-designate, and Didier Reynders, Belgium's nominee, both of whom were grilled on the same day as Dalli.* e former MEP and armed forces minister, who is nominated for the in- ternal market portfolio, is considered to be qualified for her prospective role. However, she is facing a legal investi- gation in France over allegations that she used European Parliament assis- tants to carry out domestic political work. She has moreover been scrutinised for the work she did as a consultant for US think tank Berggruen Institute, which she carried out during her time as an MEP. Goulard paid back money owed for her use of assistants, which a spokes- person said was the result of "adminis- trative errors" which were not done on purpose or systematically. She has also insisted she didn't do anything wrong when it came to her work for the think tank. An official from the Socialists & Democrats said the group would be expecting Goulard to assure it that her pending cases wouldn't have an effect on the entire College of Commission- ers. Another group, the far-left GUE, said it would likely not support Goulard's nomination, saying that, apart from concerns about the legal cases, they had strong doubts about her national political history and her record as a eu- roparliamentarian. Despite this, Goulard has a strong base of friends within the European Parliament, with many still consider- ing her chances of getting through as good. Goulard isn't the only one on whom there are doubts. Didier Reynders, the Belgian nominee who is slated to take on the justice portfolio, is currently the subject of a criminal investigation for allegations of corruption and mon- ey-laundering. Reynders, Belgium's foreign minis- ter, has denied the accusations, which are connected with the construction of the Belgian embassy in the Dem- ocratic Republic of Congo, the lease of a federal police headquarters, and other issues. A spokesperson for Reynders has suggested that the allegations were part of a campaign to place the min- ister in a bad light. Reynders has re- portedly claimed that he is "absolutely unaware" that he is being investigated. Meanwhile, Poland's commissioner candidate, Janusz Wojciechowski, is also being investigated. OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, has initiated a probe into Wojciechowski – who is nominated for the agriculture portfolio – over alleged irregularities in the reimbursement of travel expens- es. e claims date back to the period between 2004 and 2014, when Wo- jciechowski was an MEP. Wojciechowski has said he already paid back €11,000 for "insufficiently documented" expenses "on his own initiative". According to reports, how- ever, the OLAF investigation relates to other transactions, with information supplied by the European Parliament indicating that the expenses claimed are "in the five-digit range." On Tuesday, Wojciechowski was re- ported to have "flopped" in his hearing before MEPs. Following a poor perfor- mance, he will have to face a second round of questions before the Europe- an Parliament. *At the time of writing, the results of the grilling process of Sylvie Goulard and Didier Reynders had not yet been announced. Questions linger on Commission nominees Contracts scandals and money-laundering claims Ursula von der Leyen Clockwise from right: Rovana Plumb, Laszlo Trocsanyi and Janus Wojciechowski