| Author (Person) | Banks, Martin |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.35, 23.10.03, p18 |
| Publication Date | 23/10/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
|
By Martin Banks Date: 23/10/03 AN INQUIRY by the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF into the Committee of the Regions (CoR) has confirmed that some members fiddled their expenses, it emerged this week. The long-awaited report also says there were "errors" in the placing of some CoR contracts. However, the Committee's president, Sir Albert Bore, insists OLAF did not find any evidence of serious fraud and that the case has now been closed. He will disclose what, if any, action the CoR proposes to take on OLAF's findings when he reports to members of the European Parliament's budgetary control committee on 4 November. The investigation was launched earlier this year after Robert McCoy, the Committee's own internal auditor, found evidence suggesting that members had been making false claims for expenses. These included overestimates of distances and costs of journeys, as well as claims without proof of fares, eg airline tickets. One member is believed to have been investigated for €3,600 of private travel in official cars. Among those questioned was the former CoR president, Jos Chabert, now a minister for the Brussels regional government. He denies any wrongdoing. OLAF has not yet released details of its final report but Bore issued a statement in which he confirmed that the agency had found "some irregularities" in reimbursement of members' expenses. But he said this did not warrant referring the case to judicial authorities with regard to the conduct of any present or former CoR member. However, Bore said the Committee would be reviewing its administrative procedures, adding: "We will put in place measures to ensure the rules and procedures governing all EU institutions are followed in the CoR." His claim that OLAF had largely absolved the Committee was called into question by Dutch Socialist MEP Michiel van Hulten, who has seen a copy of the report He said OLAF had found evidence of false declarations by CoR members which had led to unjustified payments and which, the investigators say, contravene the Belgian penal code. He insisted that the findings justified a "full and independent" inquiry into the CoR, adding: "I am bound by confidentiality but have to counter the erroneous information being issued by the CoR. "OLAF does find infringements of the financial rules, some of which I would describe as extremely serious." The report's findings are sure to pile pressure on the Committee which has suffered a number of arecent setbacks. Last month, the European Court of Justice took the unprecedented step of annulling the appointment of CoR Secretary-General Vincenzo Falcone over claims that the Italian had an administrative role in his own selection process. This followed the Parliament's decision to delay signing off the CoR's 2001 accounts over concerns that its financial controls were insufficient. |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs, Politics and International Relations |
