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| Europe |
| EU’s new tough line on corruption: arrest of investigative reporter |
| 2004-03-20 |
| Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his computers, address books and archive of files in a move that stunned Euro-MPs. Sleaze so blatant it stuns the pros? Now there’s something... Hans-Martin Tillack, the Brussels correspondent for Germany’s Stern magazine, said he was held for 10 hours without access to a lawyer by the Belgian police after his office and home were raided by six officers. "They asked me to tell them who my sources were. I replied that was something I would never do. Now they have all my sensitive files, so I suppose they’ll find out anyway," he said last night. The police state’s arrived sooner than I expected. "The police said I was lucky I wasn’t in Burma or central Africa, where journalists get the real treatment," he added. WTF?!!! Mr Tillack said the raid was triggered by a complaint from the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF. He was accused of paying money to obtain a leaked OLAF dossier two years ago, which he denies. The European Ombudsman has already come to his defence, issuing a harsh criticism of OLAF’s campaign to silence him. Mr Tillack, who describes himself as a "pro-European federalist", has been OLAF’s most vocal critic, accusing it of covering up abuses within the EU system. Expose all the abuses and there can’t be much left, Mr Tillack. As the author of a recent book on EU corruption, he has the greatest archive of investigative files of any journalist working in Brussels. And now the Brusselcop third-world-wannabes have it, too. Wonderful. OLAF was created to replace the old fraud office UCLAF, which was accused of covering up abuses by the disgraced Santer Commission. Many UCLAF staff were transferred to OLAF. And they wonder why few people trust the EU... |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #7 Looking on from afar,it looks to me like the EU is currently a bureaucracy in search of a government.To get control of the bureaucracy,Europe is going to need either a strong legislative or executive branch.A sensible compromise to me(if a strong central gov't. is wanted)would be a legislature modeled on US pattern w/lower House(the People's Representatives?) based on population and voted in by people,and a smaller Senate(the States' Deputy's?)w/2-3 members per country appointed by national gov't.Since most Europeans have Prime Minister-type Executives,have Prime Minister picked by lower House.Lower House initiates all legislation,both must approve,upper House has oversight of bureaucracy,approves ambassadores,gov't. ministers. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-3-20 8:30:48 PM |
| #6 Napoleon? |
| Posted by: ed 2004-3-20 3:37:17 PM |
| #5 TGA, I don't see a Jefferson, Madison or Bismark currently involved in the creation of the EU. Who do you think could do the job? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-3-20 3:33:35 PM |
| #4 It still won't be pretty. Union is not the answer. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-3-20 2:41:57 PM |
| #3 Because I have lived the Dis-Union and it wasn't pretty. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-3-20 2:18:30 PM |
| #2 Why do you favour the Union of Europe? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-3-20 1:53:50 PM |
| #1 The STERN has been rather blunt to expose the ways EU bureaucrats fill their pockets. Bulldog, you know I favour the Union of Europe. Which is not necesarily the same as the EU. We need a big broom in Brussels. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-3-20 11:59:21 AM |