Former Commissioner to lose half pension for nepotism

An advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recommended that former European research Commissioner Edith Cresson be denied half her European Union (EU) pension for employing a friend when in office. René Berthelot, a dentist from former French prime minister Cresson’s home town, was employed as a “visiting scientist” from 1995 to 1997. Advocate general Leendert Geelhoed found Cresson “in breach of her obligations as a Commissioner” by “using that office to extend benefits to personal friends”.