Ethics controversy ahead of Bratušek’s confirmation hearing
Former Slovenian prime minister has delayed publication of an ethics investigation into her nomination as European commissioner.
Alenka Bratušek, the former Slovenian prime minister who nominated herself as a European commissioner after she lost an election in May, has used “cunning manoeuvring” to delay publication of a report into her actions until after her confirmation hearing today in the European Parliament, according to an ethics watchdog.
She has done this by not picking up the report from the post office.
Bratušek is under investigation for the way that the nomination was made in July, after she had been soundly defeated in the country’s general election but while she was still leading a caretaker government. Following severe criticism in Slovenia, an ethics commission opened a conflict of interest investigation into how the nomination was made. The new centre-left Slovenian government, which took office last month, wants her nomination withdrawn but is powerless to do anything at this stage.
The ethics investigation concluded on 9 September, but Bratušek has managed to delay publication of its findings by not collecting a notification letter with the result from the post office. Legally, the result of the investigation cannot be revealed until after Bratušek receives the report and issues a response.
Last week, the head of the ethics commission, Boris Štefanec, condemned her refusal to pick up the letter, accusing her of “hampering the work of institutions of the state with cunning manoeuvring and delays”.
“Senior office holders are putting private interest before public interest and do not even have the integrity to receive mail from official authorities,” he said. But he would not reveal the result of the investigation.
The letter was forcibly delivered to Bratušek’s address on 28 September, after the time for picking it up at the post office expired. She has up to two weeks to issue a response – after her confirmation hearing and the verdicts on her nomination from the environment and energy committees. Slovenian media has speculated that Štefanec’s forceful condemnation of Bratušek’s refusal to pick up the letter means its findings are likely to be negative for her.
Read a 2013 European Voice profile of Bratušek
Although Bratušek now has the report, she could, if asked about it at today’s hearing, say that it is in the hands of her lawyers and she has not read it. She has taken on one of Slovenia’s most high-profile law firms to defend her in this case.
Vid Doria, secretary-general of Transparency International Slovenia, called the situation “a farce.” He said there is a “strong indication of corrupt behaviour and a conflict of interest,” on the part of Bratušek.
At the heart of the ethics concerns is that the majority of Bratušek’s cabinet voted against her nomination in July. A list of four names, including Bratušek’s, was drawn up to submit to Jean-Claude Juncker, the president-elect of the European Commission. This was later reduced to three after Janez Potocnik, the outgoing Slovenian commissioner, took himself off the list and criticised Bratušek’s actions.
Six ministers in the caretaker government voted against the list, while five ministers backed it. But a special procedural rule was used that says at least seven ministers must vote against such a proposal, and it was adopted. Controversially, it appears Bratušek did not abstain from this cabinet vote.
“It remains unclear who proposed the outgoing prime minister and the other two candidates, or who decided upon and how big an influence the prime minister had on the final decision,” said Doria. “The fact that the audio recordings of the government session where the final decision on the first nominating procedure was made is not accessible to the public, and the government still refuses to disclose it, raises substantial doubts about the legitimacy of the nomination procedure.”
The story of the Slovenian nomination has not received widespread attention in Brussels, but Bratušek’s nomination could be in trouble if her hearing goes off the rails today. She is politically vulnerable because she is not part of the Parliament’s ‘grand coalition’ of the centre-left and the centre-right. She is a member of the liberal ALDE group.
She is said to have poor English and is expected to answer all questions in Slovenian. She has had only two weeks to learn about the issues in her energy portfolio, in which she has little previous knowledge or expertise.
She also faces a number of other concerns, such as her lack of experience for the powerful role of commission vice-president and concerns that her portfolio – energy union – does not mention climate change. There have already been concerns about her cabinet formation. Last month she appointed Jernej Pavlič, the head of her office back in Ljubljana, to be her chef de cabinet. He has no EU experience and little political experience.
Read the live blog from Bratušek’s confirmation hearing, starting at 2:30pm
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