CODE OF CONDUCT:THE EUROPEAN Commission says it has no power to stop the pension of any former commissioner after Labour MEP Nessa Childers called on it to block Pádraig Flynn's pension in light of the Mahon report.
This may not be the end of the matter, however, as it is open to the commission to make an application to the European Court of Justice to have the pension of a former commissioner stopped.
In the eyes of certain European officials, the tribunal’s findings against Mr Flynn may yet lead to a “test case” under the commission’s code of conduct.
The code imposes an obligation on former commissioners to behave with “discretion and integrity” after their departure from the commission.
In its report, the tribunal accused Mr Flynn of giving “astounding, incredible and untrue” evidence to it.
Ms Childers wrote last week to Maroš Šefcovic, European Commission vice-president for administration, urgently requesting him to enforce the commission’s code of conduct to cut off Mr Flynn’s pension from his time in Brussels.
She cited the tribunal’s conclusion that Mr Flynn had “wrongfully and corruptly sought a substantial donation” from developer Tom Gilmartin for Fianna Fáil, and went on to utilise the £50,000 he received for his personal benefit.
“The former commissioner has disgraced Ireland’s good name in Europe. He should no longer receive his sizable pension from the European Commission,” Ms Childers wrote.
Mr Šefcovic’s spokesman said yesterday that the commission was not empowered to strip a former commissioner of his pension over corruption before he joined the commission.
Neither was it open to the commission to take such action if the former commissioner was found to have given false evidence to a judicial tribunal.
“Only the Court of Justice may compulsorily retire a commissioner or deprive him or her of his/ her right to a pension or other benefits,” the spokesman said.
The powers of the court in this matter are governed by article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
The article says the court may take such action on the application of the commission or the application of a simple majority of member states.
It is unclear whether the commission would seek to deploy its powers under this article in respect of Mr Flynn, who has rejected the tribunal’s report.
Commissioners are obliged under article 245 to refrain from any action incompatible with their duties and to give a solemn undertaking to observe the obligations arising from their duties after they cease to hold office.
Ms Childers’s correspondence was formally received by Mr Šefcovic’s private office yesterday. A reply is expected within three working weeks.
In 2006, the court made a ruling against former French commissioner Édith Cresson but imposed no penalty in the form of a deprivation of her right to a pension or other benefits.
The court found she acted in breach of her obligations as a commissioner but said this finding constituted an appropriate penalty in its own right having regard to the circumstances of the case.
