EU threatens Germany over refusal to publish farm aid recipients

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Published: APRIL 23, 2009 21:56
The European Commission has threatened to sue Germany over its refusal to publish the names of EU farm aid recipients and say how much they receive. EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said Germany, like all 27 EU countries, is obliged to make the names public. Under a 2006 EU law, all member states have to put the names of farm handout beneficiaries and the aid they receive on an EU Web site. German courts have issued preliminary injunctions stopping authorities from publishing the data due to privacy concerns. The Commission said Thursday it "cannot agree" to such moves. It argues the aid rules already adhere to a strict EU data protection law.