Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council on his first appearance, Mr President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, I asked the question on the Bangemann case because I thought it raised a matter of great topical importance, that of the ethical behaviour of public officials. We are not only judging a Commissioner whose behaviour has been unacceptable. We are talking about a former Member of this Parliament, a distinguished parliamentarian who was even a leader of the in the European Parliament, a former German Minister for the Economy and a Commissioner with a long record of service. We must start with the freedom of people and the fact that we are all in public service voluntarily, and the ex-Commissioner cannot claim ignorance of this. I welcome the Council's decision on this case – and I believe it has been a quick one – as well as the Commission's explanations with regard to its actions in this case, which have been enormously speedy. It is clear – while I respect the fact that it is still sub judice - that the acceptance of the post offered to him by Telefónica represents an obvious conflict of interests. We simply have to remember the role played by Mr Bangemann in the Commission's revised proposal on royalties and the information society, the pressure applied by Telefónica to introduce changes to the proposed Directive previously rejected by Parliament, Telefónica's active policy with regard to penetrating the media, and also in relation to charges. And I could mention other cases, such as the case of the Internet. Mr President, I know from my own experience what the Telefónica company represents in Spain. I was Minister in this area during the 80s and I can tell you that in Spain it is more significant than the Society of Jesus. Telefónica has been a monopoly from the beginning and has been privatised incredibly quickly, it has been put into the hands of an ex-college associate of the present Spanish Prime Minister, the whole privatisation having been highly questionable. But it still holds a dominant position in the Spanish market-place and an international profile, which means that this is not a purely Spanish matter. What is there at the moment to prevent Mr Bangemann from using any confidential or strategically sensitive information about Telefónica's competitors that he has obtained through his status as Commissioner? There is no answer to this question and it is truly serious. I therefore believe that we should draw up codes of conduct which include standards of political decency applicable in all of our countries. At the moment, as we have been reminded, the Commissioners now have a suspension of three years to rebuild their professional life without having to sell themselves to the highest bidder. Allow me, Mr President, to conclude with something which relates to the end of the last legislature and the beginning of this one. In the Committee on Budgetary Control, certain examples of the behaviour of the ex-Commissioner were presented. However, these were not used, even in the light of the report of the Committee of Experts, an inquisitorial campaign against certain Commissioners was preferred – and in one case I would say there was sexual discrimination because the Commissioner was a woman. Since highly critical things have been said here in this Chamber, who is going to restore the honour of those Commissioners? In any event, I believe that, in view of the locations we have for this Parliament and in the Union, this is an experience which must not be repeated because, in the end, black sheep are found in unexpected places.

Political group: PSE