Brussels, 18/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission, which is keen to avoid any destabilising effects, has categorically denied claims by German daily Die Welt that José Manuel Barroso and his wife were treated by a friend who is involved in shipping to a cruise worth 20,000 EUR. A Commission spokesperson, Françoise Le Bail, pointed out on Monday that the President of the Commission was entitled to a private life and to have friends, and that Mr Barroso had spend a few days of holiday at the end of August (2004) on the yacht belonging to a family friend, Spiro Latsis, whom he had known for over twenty-five years. “Any allegation that a cruise was financed and the sums that are mentioned are absurd,” she added, describing the German newspaper's accusations as “serious”.
The spokesperson thus denied that Mr Barroso's behaviour had been in breach of the code of conduct for Commissioners. Spiro Latsis is a Greek banker, who is the head of a group which is active in the world of finance, oil and shipping and in possession of one of the world's sixty largest fortunes, according to the 2005 listings of the American Forbes magazine. Ms Le Bail added that as far as the Commission was aware, Latsis' group had no contact with the EU executive. “Mr Latsis and Mr Barroso met at university in Geneva. They spent their holidays together from 22 to 28 August with their former lecturer, Dusan Sidjanski”, she explained. Mr Sidjanksi, who is an emeritus professor of the University of Geneva, is one of Mr Barroso's special advisers who “give him free advice”, she added.
Mr Barroso himself alluded to his trip at last Tuesday's meeting of the College of Commissioners. The Commission raised the issue because it needed to put together an answer to a written question from British anti-European member Nigel Farage (UK Independence Party), calling for details on potentially unlawful hospitality accepted by members of the Commission since they took office last December. In his response to Mr Farage, “the Commission said that when hospitality had been offered, this was a normal fact of the member's private life and therefore raised no problems with the treaty or the code of conduct”, the Commission spokesperson stressed.
Die Welt also said that the European Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson, allegedly accepted an invitation for a private trip to Jamaica. “Mr Mandelson has never been to Jamaica, but he did visit the Caribbean from 30 December to 3 January”, said Ms Le Bail. “On this visit, he stayed with personal friends who have no connection with the Commission”, she added.