THE HEAD of the Secretariat in charge of Cyprus’ EU presidency term in the second part of 2012 yesterday denied having any involvement in the appointment of his daughter’s friend to a coveted position in Brussels.
Andreas Moleskis was responding to a front-page report in Politis newspaper, which claimed the head of the Secretariat had pushed to have his daughter’s 28-year-old roommate in Brussels – Athanasios Kagiaras – appointed as the coordinator for organising and planning events during Cyprus’ term.
The paper claimed that even though all procedures followed in Kagiaras’ appointment were legitimate, his lack of experience in the field cast doubt over his choice as one of four candidates for the post.
In an open letter to the media, Moleskis yesterday explained that during Cyprus’s six-month term, over 3,000 meetings and events had to be organised – “exactly the same for all EU presidencies” – which would demand the employment of two or three people.
Their duties will include arranging conferences, sorting interpreters, arranging catering for the conferences and supervising the rooms’ interior design.
These employees, said Moleskis, would be under the guidance of Cyprus’ permanent representation in the EU and the Secretariat, and cooperate with the EU Council and other European bodies.
“This is a practice followed by all presiding countries and these persons are sent to Brussels, one-and-a-half to two years before the presidency resumes, for self-explanatory reasons,” said Moleskis.
Moleskis denied having any involvement in choosing the four candidates and Kagiaras’ subsequent appointment.
“The selection of the four persons was made through examining CVs that have been submitted to the Secretariat over time and finding the persons/bodies who fulfil the necessary qualifications for the position,” said Moleskis.
He added, “It was taken into account that the candidates were well acquainted with the environment in Brussels, not just as visitors but as established professionals. If the need arose in London or Paris, the same practice would have been followed.”
According to the law, tenders are opened for an official state position only if the relevant contract is worth under €137,000. The budget for this position was set at €120,000, which didn’t necessitate tenders.
The applicants made offers for the 24-month contract and Kagiaras’ €119,000 bid was chosen, according to Politis’ sources. This translates into a monthly paycheque of almost €5,000.
The paper said questions were raised over how Kagiaras – a bank clerk stationed in Brussels and living with Moleskis’ daughter – was one of the four candidates, considering he had absolutely no previous experience in the field of coordinating and organising such a large number of high profile events.
But Moleskis said even Politis admitted that the procedures followed were legitimate.
“It is impressive that (Politis) speaks of discrepancies in the open tenders’ procedure in the publication’s sub-title, yet in the main piece it says that the Cyprus Presidency’s Secretariat’s actions were legitimate,” said Moleskis. “This reference can be described at the least as unfortunate.”
He added that the salaries of officials stationed abroad were always decided by the Finance Ministry. “The amount of €5,000 includes the salary, income tax deductions and social security contributions,” explained Moleskis.
He said all procedures followed in the employment of staff took place with full transparency and legal procedures. “In the specific case, I had absolutely no involvement in the assessment procedure,” said Moleskis.
