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Number-crunchers defrauded EU to fund holidays and their own volleyball team.(Spike!!)
The Telegraph ^ | (Filed: 25/09/2003) | By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Posted on 09/26/2003 8:52:05 AM PDT by .cnI redruM

Euro-MPs called for heads to roll last night after investigators found that millions of euros had been diverted into slush funds by the European Union's statistics office, Eurostat. Repeated warnings by whistleblowers were ignored.

In a frenzied atmosphere not seen in Strasbourg since the downfall of Jacques Santer's commission on nepotism charges four years ago, Euro-MPs were allowed their first glimpse of a set of audit and fraud reports before midnight in a sealed room.

In a damning conclusion, the chief auditor wrote: "It is apparent that the commission is ill-equipped to protect itself further against the risk of collusion on third parties, where little controls, if any, are in place".

The reports decried a "total lack of audit trail", making it impossible to know how long the practice had continued or whether Eurostat officials had been skimming contracts for their own enrichment.

They revealed that taxpayers' money had been used to pay for perks and freebies, including a riding club, a volleyball team, extravagant dinners, and trips to New York and the Bahamas.

"This is a real mea culpa. It's awful and we're not trying to deny that any of this happened," said a senior commission official.

Investigators said it was too early to tell how many millions had vanished, but cited a catalogue of insider dealing and corrupt contracts. At least £2.1 million was lost.

Jens-Peter Bonde, a Danish MEP, said: "This is a long, sickening list of scandals where nobody was taking responsibility. It was a system of secret funds used for purposes never approved by the European Parliament."

Indignant MEPs were frisked at the door before being let into the room last night to see the stack of files. They were not allowed to take notes, having to rely on memory to prepare for a grilling today of the commission president, Romano Prodi. Some wore white scarves over their mouths to protest at the gagging order.

Chris Heaton-Harris, a Tory MEP, said Brussels had failed to derail the gravy train or to break the grip of entrenched officials who seemed to treat the EU as their personal property.

He called for the resignation of Pedro Solbes, the commissioner heading Eurostat, but said the issue went deeper. "Neil Kinnock [the commission vice-president] has serious questions to answer. He is in charge of cleaning up Brussels but we're still looking at a total breakdown of control," he said.

The dominant Socialist and Christian Democrat MEPs had held their fire until now, but last night support for Mr Prodi's team was starting to crumble. Abuses continued well into the Prodi era, some until as recently as July.

Arlene McCarthy, a Labour MEP, said: "These reports contain serious evidence of malpractice, cronyism and cosy cartels."

Officials said it would take a full judicial inquiry to determine whether senior staff had stolen EU funds.


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: crooks; dirtbags; eurotoadies; socialists
Side-out Euro-skeptics!
1 posted on 09/26/2003 8:52:05 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
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