Reformers line up for chance to improve state of the Union

Date: 10/06/04

HE IS the Dutch civil servant who, five years ago, famously helped trigger the mass resignation of the European Commission - an unprecedented move in the EU's history.

Now, whistleblower Paul van Buitenen is standing in this weekend's European elections: he is just one of several reform-minded candidates who want to bring their zeal for change to the next European Parliament.

Van Buitenen heads a list of 20 candidates of his own newly formed party, Europa Transparent, and hopes to gain at least three of the 27 seats up for grabs in the Netherlands. He has pledged to end "rampant" fraud in Brussels.

As a Commission assistant auditor, he made a name for himself in 1998 by 'blowing the whistle' on fraud and mismanagement in EU institutions. This caused the fall of the Commission led by Jacques Santer in 1999.

Van Buitenen, who has taken ten weeks unpaid leave from his job as an assistant in the Commission's personnel department to stand in the elections, says that, if elected, he aims to help bring greater transparency to Parliament.

"I hope to bring Europe back to its citizens," he declares.

"This may sound familiar but Europe now belongs to a well-connected elite. I don't aspire to be like most MEPs who want to be on lots of committees, travel and put their names to reports. I want to focus on one thing: fighting fraud in the EU."

But Van Buitenen has attracted fierce criticism back in the Netherlands for saying that, if elected, he will refuse to do as other Dutch MEPs traditionally do and sign a code of conduct whereby unused travel expenses are returned to the Parliament's coffers.

"It will go to my party but I want to stress I will not personally pocket one euro of this. I don't believe in the code so don't see why I should go along with it," said van Buitenen, who has worked for the Commission for 14 years.

Former BBC war correspondent and independent candidate Martin Bell is another who has fought a campaign solely on an anti-corruption ticket.

The 'man in the white suit' likened the UK's method for elections to the European Parliament to a system devised by the old Albanian Communist party.

He said: "I am a passionate believer in democracy and honest politics. I believe in democracy that serves local needs rather than party interests. The present electoral system doesn't do that."

Bell, who famously overturned an 11,000 UK Conservative majority seat in 1997, describes himself as a "moderate Eurosceptic" and hopes to fight in Brussels and Strasbourg against "the corruption which lies at its [the EU's] heart".

Another rising star of the next legislature could be Cem Ozdemir, the first German of Turkish origin to be elected to the Bundestag.

The would-be Green MEP is outspoken on immigration policy and believes that, while immigration rules should be reformed, Muslims must not expect special treatment.

He feels they can successfully integrate without giving up their roots.

Meanwhile, Alexander Stubb, of the Finnish National Coalition Party, is also tipped to be one of the headline-grabbing MEPs, if he makes it in the next five- year legislature.

Stubb, who currently works for the Finnish Permanent Representation to the EU, challenges those who are unimpressed by Parliament, insisting the assembly is now more influential than ever: "An active MEP has more power than a minister at the national level and Parliament is a true legislative institution," he says.

When asked what kind of face he would give Europe, he says: "The face would certainly not look like Valéry Giscard d'Estaing! I would give Europe a young fresh face with new ideas."

Whistleblower Paul van Buitenen is standing in the European Parliament Elections in June 2004, and if elected as an MEP has pledged to end 'rampant' fraud in Brussels. Article goes on to discuss other would-be reformers who are standing for election. Article forms part of a European Voice 'European Election Special'.

http://www.europatransparant.nl/ http://www.europatransparant.nl/

---