Under-fire IDEA chief defends bid

Date: 01/08/01

By Laurence Frost

THE head of an international agency accused of mismanagement by members of his own staff has defended its bid for €8 million in funding from the European Commission.

Bengt Säve-Söderbergh, secretary-general of the Stockholm-based Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), rejected allegations that favoured staff were given generous perks and paid for work they had not produced.

He insisted the claims had come from "a few anonymous individuals who can't speak on behalf of the organisation".

Following disclosures in European Voice a fortnight ago, Sweden's foreign affairs committee has requested documents from the institute, which has also been criticised in an independent report.

Norway, an IDEA donor, is also following latest developments closely. "An organisation that teaches other countries about democracy should keep its own doorstep clean," foreign ministry official John Petter Opdhal said.

A dossier highlighting alleged mismanagement at IDEA was supplied to European Voice by three staff members who identified themselves, but asked to remain anonymous.

Elected staff representative Ingrid Backström-Vose said the majority of IDEA employees still backed the EU funding bid. She said: "The issue is not whether we support the secretary-general, it's whether we support the funding of our own projects." IDEA's funding bid is still in its early stages. An official said: "It will be considered on its merits, and also in the light of questions raised about the functioning of the institute."

The head of an international agency accused of mismanagement by members of his own staff has defended its bid for €8 million in funding from the European Commission.