Brussels/Rome, 22/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Director General of OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) who (since March 2000) has been the German judge Franz-Herman Brüner may neither request or accept instructions from any government, institution, body or agency and this applies to the selection and appointment process for OLAF officials. This was the response given in an OLAF press release to the veto by Berlusconi's government to three Italian judges starting work at OLAF. Silvio Berlusconi wrote to the Upper Council of Italian judges asking them not to authorise Mauro Vaudano to start work and to "revoke" Nicola Piacente and Alberto Perduca - all three of whom had won competitions to be appointed to these positions. The reason mentioned by Rome: correspondence between he European Commission and the Italian Justice Ministry (under the previous government) which allegedly attempts to favour the three candidates by avoiding giving the competition the required publicity.
The European Commission has "categorically denied" any interference in the matter and in its press release, OLAF stresses that the rules were respected in the appointment of Alberto Perduca as Director of Investigations and Operations, and also of the other two judges as "temporary agents". OLAF notes that publicity for the competition was not only carried out through the normal official channels, but is also still found on its website (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/anti fraud/press releases/200/02 200fr.htm). Referring to an article in the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero with the headline "Three judges to go to Brussels after phantom competition", OLAF adds that apart from the desire that any state or Community institution may have for a certain post to be occupied by a specific individual (the article refers to the support for Dr Perduca from the Italian government and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi) no influence was exercised by the latter with on the Director General of OLAF. Piero Fassino, former Italian Justice Minister, said that the Italian government of the time had simply fought at European level to ensure Italian judges were not discriminated against. Franz-Herman Brüner hoped that OLAF would be able to count on Messrs Perduca and Vaudano as soon as possible, and could continue to benefit from Mr Piacente's services (he came to OLAF from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague and worked for three years in the European Commission's anti-fraud offices).