Luxembourg, 27/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - For the very first time since its creation, the European Court of Justice has appointed a qualified professional journalist at the head of its press and information service (EUROPE 9033). Born in 1963 in Sama de Langreo in Spain, Juan Carlos Gonzales Alvarez, graduated in journalism from the Université Libre de Bruxelles before going on to acquire a masters in journalism from the university of Madrid. He is the co-author of a book on the single currency. He has worked as a journalist in Brussels covering European news for the Spanish daily, El Mundo, since September 1999, and at the press agency, Europe Information Service, since April 1997.
The precipitated departure of his predecessor, Hatto Käfer, in March this year - who had considered his career prospects somewhat fragile - provided an opportunity for the president of the Court and that of the Court of First Instance to review their communication policy. Vassilios Skouris and Bo Vesterdorf set out to find a candidate from the journalistic sphere, someone, they explained, who is able to be clear without being simple. The judges approached half a dozen professional journalists, as well as former journalists who had later specialised in communication, and communicators with another training also. After a series of interviews - considered by some candidates as being too rapid - the judges chose Juan Carlos Gonzales Alvarez. The appointment of the new head of unit took place in a small committee in contrast to the appointment of Hatto Käfer, for whom the vacancy had been advertised in the European press, attracting the interest of around one hundred applicants at the time.
This is the first time that a qualified journalist is appointed at the head of the Court's press service. The idea that a journalist could serve the interests of the Court better than any jurist, considered too “highbrow”, has been floated since the nineties. The Court took the first step with Hatto Käfer's nomination, who was not a lawyer but who trained as an economist.
It now seems that the Court feels backed up on its new policy by the resolution of the European Parliament of 12 May 2005 in which the latter calls for the press releases of the institutions to be, “as far as possible”, drafted by “communication experts”.
Juan Carlos Gonzales Alvarez is at the head of a press unit and no longer a division as was his predecessor. The “visits” part of the press service was transferred in July to the “protocol” division, which is responsible for dealing with very high magistrates, heads of government and ministers. It will now also be responsible for the lower order of judges who dare face the great of this world, teachers, officials and trainees of every kind, thus taking the burden off the press unit which will be essentially for journalists.
This change in policy, however, does not receive a unanimous welcome in Court. There are still those who consider that communication and information are two different techniques , that the Court should “speak” through its rulings and that choosing between the rulings that deserve a press release and those that remain out of the media sphere is a political choice that is incompatible with the Court's mission, which is to state the law.