PARLIAMENT has been called to explain why it included the Central Bank Governor on the Conflict of Interest list without consulting the European Central Bank.
The issue came to light after a letter was sent by ECB governor Jean-Claude Trichet to House President Marios Garoyian, asking to be informed on the matter.
Deputies yesterday slammed CB governor Athanasios Orphanides for reporting Cyprus to the ECB. A statement later issued by the Central Bank, however, claimed it was the ECB itself that spotted the discrepancy.
The Chairman of the House Institutions Committee, Rikkos Erotokritou, as well as AKEL deputy Yiannakis Thoma strongly condemned what they believed was Orphanides’ decision to turn to the ECB governor and report Parliament for approving a law that concerns him without informing him first.
Erotokritou said Orphanides was “out of order” and had a duty to contact the Cyprus Parliament before informing anyone else.
“We believe this action by the Central Bank Governor is out of order, the Governor had a duty to contact Parliament and offer his opinions before addressing the ECB governor and making the accusations he made,” said Erotokritou, whose Committee was responsible for examining the conflict of interest bill.
He wondered whether Orphanides was trying to achieve an exemption from the law by hiding behind the fact that the ECB had not been informed he would be included in the relevant list.
“This action has exposed the Cyprus Republic to the EU,” said Erotokritou, adding, “There is danger of Cyprus being led to the European Court of Communities.”
Thoma added that even though Orphanides had the right to report Cyprus if he felt he had to, the Republic should be protected by its government officials and not exposed internationally. “Having the right is one thing, but the ethical aspect of the matter is another,” said Thoma.
“We believe the Central Bank governor had many ways to discuss the issue, either by addressing the President of the Republic or the House President, in order to clarify the matter. But he didn’t do that. Instead he considered it correct to report the Cyprus Republic, which in our opinion could have been avoided,” said Thoma.
Even though he wasn’t fully aware of the terms and conditions for the CB chief’s employment, Thoma expressed the conviction that there would be sanctions.
“I believe this can be resolved in Cyprus through discussions,” he concluded.
In response, the Central Bank later issued an announcement saying Orphanides did not disagree with the conflict of interest law.
“The Governor is emphatically stressing that he never reported Parliament to the European Central Bank,” read the announcement. “It is the firm practice of the European Central Bank’s Legal Service to closely observe the laws and bills of the member states and in the event that it spots omissions in consulting the national principles of the European Central Bank, it is obliged to point this out to the relevant authority in charge of preparing or voting the law, centring their attention on possible incompatibilities with the Treaty for the Establishment of the European Community and the Constitution of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central bank and the need to eliminate them.”
It concluded, “Unfortunately, for the conflict of interest law the national authorities omitted to make the necessary consultation and for this reason, the relevant letter from the ECB Governor was sent.”
