The European Commission said on Monday 19 December that it is investigating the type of activities that former European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimítris Avramopoulos engaged in with politicians and staff members of the EU institution after he left office at the end of 2019.
Mr Avramopoulos admitted to having received €60,000 for services rendered over one year to the Fight Impunity association, the organisation at the centre of the corruption scandal that has rocked the European Parliament (see EUROPE B13085B20), following information revealed the day before by the Italian daily La Stampa.
In February 2021, this activity received a conditional green light from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the basis of an opinion from the institution’s internal ethics committee. Mr Avramopoulos was not allowed to contact European Commissioners or members of their cabinets in the course of his Fight Impunity activities.
“We are currently checking whether he has complied with the restrictions” imposed, said Commission spokesman Eric Mamer. The Commission was also aware of the level of his remuneration.
Mr Avramopoulos is a candidate for the post of EU Special Representative for the Gulf States, whose appointment is to be announced by the end of 2022.
Another issue is that Fight Impunity is not listed in the European Transparency Register, a requirement for its representatives to be allowed to meet with Commission officials. This shortcoming was highlighted by the EU institution’s ethics committee, and the NGO’s management committed to addressing it in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. When questioned on Monday, the Commission was unable to demonstrate that it had carried out appropriate checks.
“We don’t do it systematically”, said Mr Mamer.
When the corruption scandal broke, Mr Avramopoulos immediately resigned from Fight Impunity, as did former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, former French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and former Swedish Liberal MEP Cecilia Wikström, all of whom are honorary members of the association.
According to Mr Mamer, Ms Mogherini became a member of the organisation “after the 24-month ‘cooling-off’ period” to which former EU Commissioners are subject at the end of their mandate. Therefore, she did not have to seek authorisation from the Commission’s ethics committee, he noted. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)