Brussels, 23/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The former French Prime Minister, Edith Cresson, who is suspected of having infringed her obligations while she was a Commissioner (1995-1999), will soon be heard, at her request, by the European Commission. Parallel to the Commission's administrative inquiry, the Belgian justice system, which inculpated Ms Cresson in March 2003 for "falsification of private accounts, use of forgery and using influence for personal gain" during her time at the Commission, is expecting a non-trial, due to a lack of evidence against her. This is at least the view of French daily Le Monde dated Friday.
The spokesperson of Commissioner Neil Kinnock indicated that Ms Cresson's lawyers had answered the Commission's questions in January 2003, and that it had been decided to let her speak, to "get across her version of events". This source stressed that these are two quite separate, but linked, inquiries. He said that if Belgian justice acquitted Ms Cresson, the Commission would take account of this. He pointed out that if the Commission reached a contrary conclusion, it would lodge an appeal with the Court of Justice to have part or whole of Ms Cresson's pension provision revoked.
The former Commissioner is suspected of having helped her former dentist, René Berthelot, who has since died, to get a job of convenience at the Commission in 1996 and 1997, and of having favoured a French firm in the Leonardo European training programme, which was under her jurisdiction. The Cresson affair destabilised Jacques Santer's Commission, which was eventually forced collectively to resign in March 1999.