Finding leaks at the Commission – POLITICO

Senior European Commission officials search EU officials for leaks and threaten unspecified "charges" after a series of recent revelations that angered President Ursula von der Leyen and members of his circle. intimate, according to three EU officials with direct knowledge of investigations. .

The Commission, as is also the case with many national governments, regularly seeks to avoid unauthorized press releases and has often attempted to identify employees who breach confidentiality and prevent official announcements. This happened last month when Bloomberg News and HEAVEN32 released details of the economic recovery plan for von der Leyen coronavirus.

At a meeting this week, senior EU officials were warned that investigators had identified a suspect in the leaked details of the stimulus package, which would be linked to the new plan or fiscal framework at long term of the EU. multi-year financial. If the allegations are confirmed, senior officials have been informed that "charges will be laid".

But the investigations under way by the Commission’s General Secretariat stand out because they also include at least one case in which the information was disclosed not to a journalist but to the EU’s own member countries.

The case, which involves plans for a long-overdue plan to revise the EU's migration and asylum policy, reflects the growing distrust between the Commission and national capitals after weeks of tension over how to manage the coronavirus pandemic.

An EU official and diplomat, when interviewed separately, said the new surveys indicated growing "paranoia" among von der Leyen's team.

Commission officials, including von der Leyen, accused national leaders of acting unilaterally and selfishly by hoarding protective equipment and imposing border restrictions, while some capitals punished Brussels for mismanagement response, even by rushing too quickly to publish an exit strategy from containment measures, and by fueling a debate on how to finance a giant economic recovery plan.

Some diplomats said efforts to investigate officials to share information with national governments and to label these disclosures as "leaks" reflected the ongoing struggle of former German Defense Minister von der Leyen and his most close confidants adapt to the habits of Brussels In the capital of the EU, secrets are almost impossible to keep, and the requirement that member countries unanimously approve most initiatives policies require almost constant consultation and collaboration.

An EU official and diplomat, when interviewed separately, said the new investigations revealed growing "paranoia" among the team of von der Leyen, which includes several high-level advisers who work with him ; accompanied by Berlin.

"We are used to reading the leaks of what we just discussed in the German press," said one of the officials, in a subtle reference to the country of origin of von der Leyen. "These are not vital leaks, but they are still leaks."

The Commission did not respond to a request for comment or a list of questions regarding the investigation of the leaks, including the charges which could be laid.

A spokesperson for von der Leyen also did not answer questions regarding her personal opinion on the leaks and whether she had ordered the investigations, led by Pascal Leardini, an Assistant Secretary General who is the chief of Operation of the general secretariat of the Commission. .

But several officials have described members of von der Leyen's cabinet and the president himself as enraged by the recent leaks. Commission official said president's office had "reached the ceiling" in two cases where press articles had preceded the implementation of official policies: the announcement of the "Fair Transition Fund" to accompany green agreement. European, and the most recent disclosure on the coronavirus recovery fund.

At this week's meeting, senior officials were told that von der Leyen was "in the arms" of the leaks and that those found guilty would be punished, regardless of their rank.

An EU diplomat described the situation as "a toxic cocktail of hypocrisy and McCarthyism", referring to the witch hunt for alleged communists led by US Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s .

Officials and diplomats who spoke to HEAVEN32 about the leak investigations have not been identified, citing fear of political reprisal or professional reprimand.

Several said the search for the leaks was particularly futile and flawed as the office of the president would often be in a position of necessity to selectively disclose information about political initiatives, and would therefore be asked to accuse hypocrisy, but also because practically none of the topics discussed relate to real security information which could be life-threatening if it were disclosed.

In some cases, von der Leyen seems to have miscalculated when he could make a unilateral announcement and when it would be better to wait for the signature of heads of state and government.

For example, his announcement of an EU-wide unemployment reinsurance plan effectively decreed how member states would spend their money before national leaders formally approved it.

And at the last video conference of EU leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to fear that the press would hear the Commission's revised proposal on PMF before the leaders. "Don't forget to talk to us," he told von der Leyen.

Jacopo Barigazzi, Lili Bayer, Laura Kayali and Bjarke Smith-Meyer contributed to the report.