Former European commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Monday clarified that his participation in Fight Impunity had been entirely honorary and had been approved by the European Commission and an ethics committee, in a statement to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Monday regarding an article in the Italian newspaper “La Stampa”.
“My participation in the organisation Fight Impunity was from the start without executive or managerial responsibilities. The committee in which I participated – with personalities such as Federica Mogherini, former French premier Bernard Cazeneuve and Senator Emma Bonino, among others – was entirely honorary. For my participation and the compensation that accompanied it I asked for the approval of the European Commission and it was given to me in writing, by President Von der Leyen,” the former commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship said.
“A corresponding assenting opinion for my participation in the organisation’s honorary committee was given by the Independent Ethical Committee of the European Union, on December 10, 2020. The compensation was for one year, from February 2021 until February 2022, with the sum of 5000 euros a month, which was declared and taxed in Greece, according to Greek law (final sum: 3750 euros). After a year, in February 2022, because the Organisation’s activity had greatly declined, I asked for the compensation to end. After March, my participation was essentially over,” Avramopoulos said.
He concluded his statement by noting that, as soon as he was informed of the events in Brussels, “I immediately and irrevocably submitted my resignation and asked that my name be removed from the website, along with the other personalities participation in the committee.”
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
