New Danish Commissioner in Trouble Over Finances

According to Politiken, Mariann Fishcer Boel omitted that she held shares in banking and sugar business when she declared her financial interests to the Danish Parliament’s register, interests which appear in declarations made to the EU authorities. Although the Danish declaration is voluntary, anyone who chooses to register the information must do so honestly. In Boel's case, her block of shares with a value above the limit of €6,700 ($8,241) should have been mentioned. Boel told the commission she holds a block of shares in Danske Bank and recently sold shares in the Danisco, one of the largest sugar producers in Europe. Boel’s office confirmed to Politiken that the shares had been in her possession for years, but the sugar shares were sold last week to avoid possible conflict of interests with her new job in Brussels. (EUobserver.com)