[governance] A shame for the EC

[Andrea Glorioso]

Norbert,

On Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 3:36 PM, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:

> > Given that the general reaction to this appointment could not have come
> as a
> > surprise to Mme. Kroes or her staff one really has to ask why it was
> made.
>
> Indeed. And she's legally obligated to give the reasons (when the
> question is formally asked) why such a scandalous person was chosen
> instead of conducting a more normal kind of search for a well-qualified
> and suitable person to fill this role:
>
> According to Article 41 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights [1],
> which has been ratified by all EU member countries as part of the
> Lisbon Treaty, there is a right to good administration which includes
> in particular "the obligation of the administration to give reasons
> for its decisions".
>

I'm not sure you saw my email in which I pointed to the blog post in which
Neelie Kroes reacted to the various comments on this matter. It is here:

http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/neelie-kroes/no-disconnect-response-issue/

In there, you will see that the main reasons why she made this decision
are that, in her view, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg:

   - "is capable of coming up with and delivering excellent ideas"
   - has "international outlook and contacts to help us push these issues
   forward"
   - "understands the highly relevant security and foreign affairs world"

You, like everyone else, have of course the right not to agree with this
assessment. But suggesting that she is not providing her reasons for
taking such decision, as you seem to do; or that there must be some
other obscure reason for it, as others have done, seems a bit over
the top to me.

As a matter of fact, Neelie Kroes had already explained this during the
press conference on Monday. You will also appreciate that she did not
need to wait for a "formal question" to clarify her views on the matter.

I would also like to stress that, as it is clear both in the press release
and
in the blog post, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is an *advisor*. He will not
take decisions, which remain in the hands of Neelie Kroes and, where
appropriate, the College of European Commissioners, other
public authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Best,

--
I speak only for myself. Sometimes I do not even agree with myself. Keep it
in mind.
Twitter: @andreaglorioso
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.glorioso
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