On Friday 19 July, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, announced the opening of an inquiry following a complaint lodged by the NGO Foodwatch International, criticising the EU Council for still not having guidelines for commercial sponsorship by EU Council Presidencies.
In a letter dated 15 July to the Secretary General of the EU Council, Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, the European Ombudsman contests the EU Council's earlier response to the NGO that it was not in a position to “examine or comment” on the merits of the sponsorship case, as this issue falls within the competence of the authorities of the Member States taking the rotating presidency. An argument that does not hold, according to the Ombudsman, who quoted a complaint from 2005 (1487/2005/GG) in which the EU Council stated in writing that “the Presidency is functionally part of the Council”.
The Ombudsman considers that it would be appropriate for the EU Council to amend its rules of procedure (Chapter 1.4) concerning the organisation of presidencies, in order to better cover the issue of commercial sponsorship. It is therefore awaiting, as a first step, a response from the institution to its letter, which is expected by mid-September of this year.
Finland's Presidency
Foodwatch International denounces the fact that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, whose term of office ran from the first half of 2019, was sponsored by major multinationals, such as Renault, Mercedes and Coca-Cola, the latter group being described as a “partner” of the Presidency.
In a statement issued on Monday 22 July, Foodwatch International regretted the position of the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council, which seems not to want to take the subject to heart. “Foodwatch maintains that it is scandalous that one of the key EU institutions, which has legislative power and leads in EU trade agreements could let a car manufacturer pay for a part of its activities!” the NGO said in its statement. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)