Immediately before the hearings of members of the future EU Commission by Ursula von der Leyen begin, prominent MEPs are targeting French candidate Sylvie Goulard. The former MEP, who was briefly French Defense Minister in 2017, had to repay € 45,000 to the European Parliament in the summer because she could not prove that one of her staff had actually worked for Goulard in her capacity as a parliamentarian.
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MEPs are facing this dilemma when the Commissioners' hearings in Brussels start on Monday. On the one hand, you can hardly put Goulard, the candidate of French President Emmanuel Macron, out the door. On the other hand, the EU fraud investigation agency Olaf is investigating Poland's Janusz Wojciechowski in the same way as against another candidate, because of the employment scandal against Goulard. But if the parliamentarians stop Wojciechowski on the grounds of the Olaf investigation, how can they wave Goulard through?
The cases are different, says Daniel Caspary, head of the MEPs in the European Parliament. Wojciechowski, who is supposed to become Argarkommissar in the new EU government, is said to have been cheating as a MEP on the settlement of travel expenses, so the charge is that he has managed money in his own pocket. He himself denies the allegations. "Goulard is not about personal gain, I want to capture that difference," says Caspary.
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But there are also outside of the Olaf investigation anger for the Frenchwoman. In addition to her secondment from October 2013 to the end of 2015, she has received more than 10,000 euros per month as a "Special Adviser" for a European Futures Council in the think tank of the German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen. What exactly she did for it is unclear.
"MEPs should neither seek nor accept such extra earnings," said Philippe Lamberts, Green Group leader in the European Parliament. "There is no general okay," said the leader of the European People's Party, Manfred Weber (CSU), about Goulard. Like all Commissioners, she now has to convince the Parliament "professionally and personally," said Weber.
Before the Legal Committee, Goulard had to clear up misunderstandings about numerous activities at scientific institutes or think tanks. She was ready for "full transparency," she wrote in a letter to the committee, which is the SPIEGEL. The Legal Committee had Goulard, unlike the candidates from Hungary and Romania, pass for the hearings.
For Ursula von der Leyen, an end would be a tough blow for Goulard. The Frenchwoman is intended for the important domestic market, which has been significantly expanded and expanded for her. Overall, it would be responsible for thousands of employees - and the core of many EU reform projects in the coming years.
After the hearings, the EU parliamentarians can also reject the Commission of the Leyens in gangs. The decisive vote will be in Strasbourg on 23 October.
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