THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, will today present to the House Watchdog Committee the findings of her investigation into the procedures followed, for the awarding of a contract for events co-ordination in Brussels, during the Cyprus presidency of the EU. The two-year contract, worth about €120,000, was awarded to the boy-friend of the daughter of Andreas Moleskis, the head of the Cyprus presidency secretariat.
The man in question resigned from the post two days after the report about the awarding of the contract appeared in Politis newspaper, “for reasons of dignity”. The government, under media pressure, ordered the Auditor-General to carry out an investigation in order to establish whether the correct procedures had been followed. Moleskis claimed there was no question of nepotism and insisted that Athanasios Kagiaras was the only candidate for the job who met the job criteria.
While more light will be shed on the issue today, and Moleskis could be found to have done nothing wrong, the damage has already been done. According to a report in yesterday’s Politis the issue caused negative comments in Brussels circles which are aware of what has happened and doubt that the relevant European directive for the awarding of contracts had been scrupulously followed. Any such doubts reflect badly not just on Moleskis, but on the Cyprus government.
To make matters worse, on Sunday Phileleftheros revealed that Moleskis’ daughter Melina had been appointed to the team that would support the finance minister on issues relating to the presidency of the EU Council. This is again a matter of perception. While Ms Moleski had the right to apply for the job and her father may have had nothing to do with her appointment, the impression given is that the head of the EU presidency secretariat was using his position to secure jobs for friends and family.
The interviews for this job were conducted by a three-member committee, headed by a senior Finance Ministry official, who we doubt had done a favour to Moleskis. But once again, the impression that nepotism is rife was created. Who will believe that Moleskis had nothing to do with the lucrative contracts, related to Cyprus’ EU presidency, awarded to his daughter and her boyfriend?
We believe Moleskis’ position has become untenable, even though this could create huge problems for the government. Replacing the person in charge of the EU presidency secretariat, just a year before Cyprus assumes the presidency, would have dire consequences. Then again, if the Auditor-General’s investigation finds that the procedures followed, in the case of Kagiaras, were not the correct ones, Moleskis would have to step down for the sake of the government’s credibility in Brussels.
