EU Commissioner concerned about rule of law was engulfed in corruption scandals

The European Commission's concerns about the rule of law situation in Poland and Hungary have no credibility, V4NA quotes Poland's ruling party as saying.

Brüsszel, 2023. július 5. Didier Reynders, az Európai Bizottságnak (EB) az igazságügyért felelõs tagja mutatja az uniós testületnek az idén a negyedik alkalommal kiadott jogállamisági jelentését a bizottság heti ülését követõ sajtóértekezleten Brüsszelben 2023. július 5-én. MTI/EPA/Olivier Matthys Fotó: Olivier Matthys

Unsurprisingly, by that time Mr Ullens' earlier report had already been dismissed by the prosecutor general's office in Brussels. The former secret agent had alleged that Mr Reynders had accepted substantial bribes in connection with the refurbishment of the Belgian embassy in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

My grandfather was involved in the Belgian resistance against Nazi Germany, that's my main motivation. But there is much more than that,

Nicholas Ullens de Schooten told V4NA at the time. Mr Ullens said that during his years in the Belgian secret service, Reynders' name came up every two years in connection with a corruption case. The first time was in 2009, when Belgian police moved to a new headquarters in Brussels.

This move cost Belgian taxpayers €40 million. A similarly suspicious case was the building of the Russian embassy in Brussels in 2006, designed by Jean-Pierre Reynders, brother of Didier Reynders. It is an anomaly that the finance minister's brother should be entrusted with the interior design of such an important institution for internal security in Brussels, at the heart of NATO and the European Parliament,

the former secret agent said as reported by V4NA. When he was assigned to the so-called "Kazakhgate" unit, Ullens was severely threatened by the head of the Belgian secret service police

He called me in twice for interviews and on the third occasion, he mortally threatened me. He said that if I signed the report, I would endanger my own life, my wife's life and the lives of my four children. I am convinced that Mr Reynders was behind this, too,

the former secret agent said at the time, according to V4NA. He went on to note that "if Didier Reynders were elected European Commissioner for Justice, it would be like Al Capone running the Chicago police. This man has done terrible things for years and now he wants to be elected guardian of European law and order. For me, this is unthinkable and unacceptable."

The EU Commissioner eventually got away with the charges and was given the post of EU Justice Commissioner in Brussels without any opposition. Mr Reynders may also be linked to George Soros, as in 2014 he appeared at a conference in Brussels organised by the German multinational mass media company Bertelsmann, where Soros gave a presentation on the future of Europe.

Cover photo: Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders presents the fourth rule of law report this year  at a press conference following the European Commission's weekly meeting in Brussels on 5 July 2023. (Photo:  MTI/EPA/Olivier Matthys)