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Matthew Vella
The European Commission is standing by its claim that a EUR565,000 contract awarded to a company owned by the Nationalist Party is not a conflict of interest “in terms of Commission rules.”
The contract, a daily press and audiovisual review for the Commission’s delegation at Ta’ Xbiex, was awarded to Media.Link Communications, which is owned by the PN and whose nominal shareholder is deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg.
The matter has been raised in the European Parliament by Green MEP Carl Schlyter.
A spokesperson for Vice-President Margot Wallström said the Commission manages EU finances in line with “very strict rules”: “the financial regulation and its implementing rules define the exclusion criteria and any possible situation of conflict of interest,” Mikolaj Dowgielewicz told MaltaToday.
“The European Commission as contracting authority must chose and award a contract on the basis of very specific selection and award criteria as defined in the call for tender.”
According to the contract’s tender specification, contracts may not be awarded to tenderers who “are subject to a conflict of interest”. But the specifications also state that whilst tenderers have to inform the Commission of any situation where a conflict of interest could arise, the Commission will reserve the right to judge whether such a conflict of interest exists.
Dowgielewicz said the fact that Media.Link was owned by the PN was known at the time of awarding the contract “and this was not considered to be a conflict of interest in terms of Commission rules. The members of the board of directors of Media.Link have additionally signed a declaration of honour to assure that there was no such conflict.”
But a service contract seen by MaltaToday, bearing the European Commission logo, states clearly that contractors have to take “all necessary measures to prevent any situation that could compromise the impartial and objective performance of the Contract.
“Such conflict of interests could arise in particular as a result of economic interest, political or national affinity…,” the contract reads.
The spokesperson also said the company fulfilled all technical and financial criteria and offered “the best value for money, the reason why it was chosen by the Commission.”
Dowgielewicz said the company supplied a “purely technical service to the EC”, which at the moment stands for one year, with a possibility of renewal, for EUR44,300 for the written press review for one year, and EUR64,750 for the audiovisual review. On a span of five years, the time period possible for its renewal, the contract can net the PN over EUR565,000.
“Its task as a technical service does not involve any political or other evaluation. The remuneration that Media.Link receives for this service rendered to the Commission and as such cannot be considered as a grant for a political party.”
The PN’s Media.Link, which already provides the party a daily press review, will be monitoring news media and provide press cuttings in English to the Commission representation in Ta’ Xbiex, headed by former PN candidate to the European Parliament Joanna Drake.
Wallström’s spokesperson said news of the award does not undermine the vice-president’s Plan D for Democracy, a communications strategy aimed at generating dialogue and debate to foster democracy in the EU. “It has nothing to do with media monitoring but it’s supposed to animate the European citizens to discuss the future of the EU.”
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
Read more:
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2005/11/20/top_stroy.html
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2005/11/27/t9.html
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