WRITTEN QUESTION E-0421/02 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Continuation of the disciplinary case against Linda Steneberg.
Date: 2002-02-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Commission Delegation, European Anti-fraud Office, Sweden, appointment of staff, disciplinary proceedings, report

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/43

(2002/C 277 E/045)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0421/02

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 February 2002)

Subject: Continuation of the disciplinary case against Linda Steneberg

On 21 January 2002 Chief Public Prosecutor Christen van der Kwast decided not to charge the former
head of the Commission’s Stockholm Information Office, L.S., with any offence. Two of her colleagues
have, however, been charged.

What progress is being made in the Commission’s internal disciplinary inquiry concerning L.S. and her
former colleagues? When is the investigation expected to be completed?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 2002)

Three disciplinary proceedings were launched as a result of OLAF’s report relating to the Commission’s
representation office in Stockholm. The Disciplinary Boards have now delivered their opinions on all 3
cases with the opinion on the third case being delivered to the Appointing Authority on 10 April 2002.

As the Disciplinary Board’s opinions have been received in all three related cases the Appointing Authority
will be taking its final decisions in the near future.

As the Honourable Member will know, this process would change if the Swedish authorities were to
confirm in writing their intention to launch criminal proceedings against one of the officials, because
Article 88 § 5 of the Staff Regulations would then have to apply and the Appointing Authority would not
be able to take a final decision until the national court has reached a final verdict.

(2002/C 277 E/046)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0422/02

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 February 2002)

Subject: Customs searches and coordination between customs authorities in the Union

This question arises from an actual case which occurred on the weekend following the New Year 2002. A
number of Swedish families were travelling by coach from Yugoslavia to Sweden with a Danish company,
Espergerde Bussfart AS. The coach started about 8 a.m. on the Friday in southern Serbia, picked up
passengers in Belgrade and other places, and then travelled from Yugoslavia through Hungary, Austria,
Germany and Denmark to Sweden. There were no major customs checks throughout the trip until the
coach was leaving Germany at Rostock. It arrived about 11 on the Sunday morning and was one of four
coaches pulled in for a search. The search lasted six hours and all the passengers, most of them families,
some with small children, were ordered out into the cold to stand with their luggage in a long queue in
front of the customs officials (dressed up in combat gear). All the baggage and the coach were subjected to
a rigorous search. After six hours the coach was released after six or seven excess bottles of alcohol and
about the same number of cartons of cigarettes had been found among these not very wealthy travellers
(long distance coach travel being a low budget option) for which fines of 44 euros per item were charged.
The coach arrived at 6 p.m. at Gedser only to find the Danish customs waiting. They began an equally
exhaustive search with a new enforced wait and an extended check involving body searches and the use of
dogs. The passengers were thus detained for 12 hours in EU countries.

How long may people be detained by the customs authorities? By comparison, during police custody a
person is entitled to call in legal assistance and may not be detained for long periods without good reason.
Would not one exhaustive search in one country be enough, or should the customs be able to conduct
search after search in one country after the other on the same coach and the same passengers for hours
and hours and days and days without sustenance or rest?