Brussels, 08/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The former industry commissioner, German national Günter Verheugen, has bowed to pressure and agreed to appear before the EMIS committee of inquiry, whose task it is to shed light on the cheat devices scandal.
According to our information, Verheugen informed committee chair Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium) of his U-turn in a letter dated Friday 8 July.
The only request made by the former commissioner is that, in exchange for his full cooperation, his appearance should be after the summer break rather than on 14 July as initially hoped. This delay will give him the opportunity to be fully prepared for MEPs' questions.
“I'm especially happy that Mr Verheugen has changed his mind. It's a victory for Parliamentary scrutiny”, Van Brempt told EUROPE, acknowledging the courage shown by Verheugen.
The about-turn may be explained by the increasingly strong pressure exerted by the European Parliament. In view of the former commissioner's repeated and firm refusals, European Parliament President Martin Schulz asked European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to intercede on behalf of the MEPs. Schulz suggested that the commissioners' code of conduct could be amended so that, in future, similar situations could be avoided (EUROPE 11588).
Former commissioner Verheugen twice turned down the request by MEPs to appear before the committee, arguing that the current Commission has all the documents needed to provide answers to their questions. His appearance would have brought no added value, he said (EUROPE 11575).
MEPs also have the current Commission in their sights. The Commission would seem determined to restrict access to the minutes of the meetings of the technical committee on motor vehicles. The path is not, however, being blocked by the private office of the current industry commissioner, Elzbieta Bienkowska, but rather by the next level, that is, by the private office of Vice-President for Investment and Growth, Jyrki Katainen, several sources have suggested (EUROPE 11589). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)