Irish EU official for new post

A senior Irish EU official, Mr John Temple Lang, has been given responsibility for protecting the rights of those being investigated by the European Commission's competition authorities.

Mr Temple Lang, currently in charge of the Competition Directorate's dealings with the telecommunications and media industries, has been appointed to a newly upgraded post of Hearings Officer by the Commissioner, Mr Mario Monti.

Created in its initial form in 1982, the job involves organising and chairing the hearings at which companies can present their case to the Commission, ensuring the confidentiality of commercially sensitive documents, and ruling on the admission of third parties to hearings.

Mr Monti said yesterday that he had increased the importance of the office because of the impact that Commission decisions in this field could have. He said he would consider other ways of giving weight to the office.

Mr Temple Lang (63) joined the Commission in 1974, serving for many years in the legal service before joining the Competition Directorate. Previously, he was a partner at McCann Fitzgerald in Dublin.