The end of the affair

13 February 2008

The Hans-Martin Tillack saga has come to a conclusion – of sorts, writes Stephen Gardner. Following a European Court of Human Rights ruling in Tillack's favour in November 2007, Belgian police have returned the German reporter's files, and have paid out costs and 'moral damages'. The Brussels law enforcers had detained Tillack in March 2004 after EU anti-fraud office OLAF said the journalist bribed officials for access to compromising EU documents. The Belgians have not exactly apologised, but Tillack, now based in Berlin, accepts that for him the matter is at an end. Belgium even changed its law in the wake of the case, so that journalists can better protect their sources. But the European institutions refuse to acknowledge any errors. OLAF remains aloof and determined not to answer questions raised by the affair. What are OLAF's standards for deciding if allegations should be passed onto member states for action? What are the exact links between a supposedly independent OLAF and the Commission, where the complaint against Tillack originated? How can OLAF claim member states make ultimate decisions about pursuing cases, when in the Tillack case OLAF clearly brought pressure to bear to ensure the journalist was raided? All this reinforces the belief that rather than ruthlessly exposing EU fraud, OLAF sets out to get whistleblowers – and is supported in this by the other European institutions. The European Commission refuses to countenance any review of OLAF's actions. The leaders of the main political groups in the Parliament have refused to follow up a request from the EU Ombudsman for an investigation into the lies told by OLAF over the Tillack case. Tillack himself believes the EU institutions act in concert to minimise embarrassing stories about Brussels misbehaviour. Parliament squashed the OLAF report because it does not want its own affairs to come under the spotlight, while the Commission's own actions and motivations would have to be examined were an independent review of any kind to be launched. In Brussels, being OLAF means never having to say you're sorry. Read the previous article on the case here.

 

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