After a judicial document seen by POLITICO Tuesday evening revealed that Fearne will face charges of fraud and misappropriation in a snowballing case, MEPs suggested the ex-health minister’s nomination could now be in trouble.
“The European Parliament holds high standards when it comes to Commissioner-designates’ approval,” Cyrus Engerer, a Maltese MEP from Fearne’s Labour Party, told POLITICO. “Past decisions prove this.”
In 2019 the Parliament rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s initial pick for commissioner, Sylvie Goulard, over ethical concerns. MEPs also rejected nominations by Hungary and Romania due to apparent conflicts of interest.
Engerer won’t be on the committee to make the call; he announced last month he will not run in the European election in June.
Fearne did not respond to a request for comment for this story but has previously defended his record and insisted he “never” broke the law. On Wednesday, he said on Facebook that he had not received any official court summons, and therefore could not comment more on the case.
“I can only say that I have always, always served my duty with the utmost correctness and integrity, and I have certainly never strayed towards breaking the law,” Fearne wrote. He added that the Auditor General also said this in three reports on the case, which Fearne said observed that “the dismissal of the Minister of Health from any significant involvement on the progress of this concession directly related to public health.”
