Please find attached a document dealing with reform of the Commission, drawn up our trade union ‘Renouveau et Démocratie’ (R&D).

R&D is the second largest trade union in the European public service. At the last Staff Committee elections, we received approximately 25% of the votes of eligible officials in Brussels, and in recent years we have played a very active role in combating irregularities and fraud.

R&D is writing to you because of the key role that the European Parliament has played in the last few months. Our union has come down in favour of reform of the Commission based on the conclusions of the two reports of independent experts and of the Williamson Group.

R&D is concerned that the reform drawn up by Mr Kinnock is at odds with the two reports, and in fact pursues different objectives.

As far as financial management is concerned, his plans do not, it seems, aim to give the Commission the means to carry out its functions with greater impartiality, but instead appear to facilitate the handing over of major responsibilities to representatives of private interests. This development can only weaken the Commission and, indirectly, the European Parliament because of the complementarity of their institutional roles.

As for the first expert report, which should have incorporated concrete measures before any clean-up operation was undertaken, we have to say that in the year since it was published, the Commission has not followed it up in any way except to take disciplinary action against Mr van Buitenen, the EC official and member of our union who blew the whistle on the frauds.

R&D has been persistently campaigning as follows:

- that issues inherited from the past should be cleared once and for all: until the Commission has been conclusively ‘cleaned up’, it will remain discredited, and this will prevent it both from progressing at all other levels, and from playing the role it has been given under the Treaties to pursue European integration;

- that reform currently under way, particularly in the field of financial management, should be conducted in such a way as to strengthen the impartiality of the Commission and its officials.

We will take the liberty in the near future of contacting your political groups – or you yourself, if you wish – with a view to providing you with further information.

Yours sincerely

Jean-François Drevet, R&D Williamson Group Delegate
Franco Ianniello, President of R&D

Pour adhérer à R&D/To join R&D

Pour avoir plus d’informations sur R&D/To receive more information on R&D envoyez ce talon à/send this stub to:

Au secrétariat politique, à l’attention de SEBASTIANI/OGLE, L 102 7/12, tél. 99239/55676
CDR, à Sybren SINGELSMA (ARD 613, tél. 282.21.87),
CES, à Charles POTIER ( tél.5469331)
Luxembourg, à Hubert HUYGENS (MER 01/187, tél. 42535), Jean-Pascal LANGE (JMOC2/67 tél.34510)

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