Brussels, Belgium — A Greenpeace complaint to the European Ombudsman, regarding misleading statements to the press by the European Commission in response to Greenpeace charges of chemical industry lobby influence on the REACH chemicals dossier, has entered its final round.
Greenpeace today sent Ombudsman Mr Diamandouros final comments on the response he received from the Commission, to enable him to make a decision on the case of alleged maladministration regarding the 'revolving doors' claim.
In its comments, Greenpeace notes that the Commission fails to disprove facts presented by Greenpeace, despite publicly defaming the non-governmental organisation's research and exposé, 'Toxic Lobby' (1), which was published in May 2006.
The claims that certain individuals were in close succession employed by the chemical industry and by the European Commission to work on REACH was dismissed by the Commission in a manner, Greenpeace argues, which breaches good administrative behaviour.
The Commission has now provided information it refused to reveal to the press when questioned, regarding which officials named had worked on REACH. However, it persists in arguing that two others did not, by using a bizarrely restrictive definition of the term 'work'.
Greenpeace provides the Ombudsman with further supporting evidence, obtained through an 'access to documents' enquiry, which relate individuals to meetings with the chemical industry on REACH while working in DG Enterprise, which the Commission denies.
Greenpeace argues that the Commission statements on this subject were - and continue to be - inaccurate and misleading.
Greenpeace published Toxic Lobby in May 2006 to highlight the influence of vested interests on EU legislation intended to be in the public interest. The European Ombudsman's function does not permit him to rule on the acceptability or otherwise of the 'revolving doors' practice, which appears to be alive and well in the Commission.
'Revolving doors' has not, so far, been addressed by the European Transparency Initiative launched by Commissioner Kallas to tackle undue lobby influence on EU lawmaking.
REACH enters into force on Friday, 1 June 2007.
Notes:
1. Toxic Lobby, 4 May 2006, http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/toxic-lobby