Commission probes Eurostat links

Date: 11/09/03

A FRESH inquiry into possible fraud has been launched by the European Commission's publications office over its links with Eurostat, the EU data collection agency which is already embroiled in a major corruption probe.

The Commission has confirmed that Tom Cranfield, director of the Luxembourg-based publications office, is examining possible irregularities - even though an initial investigation in June found no evidence of wrongdoing.

An in-depth internal audit is now under way.

It is focused on the sale of statistical publications in Eurostat's 'Datashops'. The first probe concluded that the role of the publications office had been limited to that of collecting payments.

The Datashops' activities have come under the spotlight during the Eurostat saga.

In March, the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF, presented the French public prosecutor with evidence that Planistat, a firm registered in the country, had been used to divert €920,000 of EU funds into secret bank accounts. The company had been contracted to manage several of Eurostat's Datashops.

Members of the European Parliament's budget control committee, who learned about the new probe this week, are seeking further details.

Portuguese Socialist Paulo Casaca said: "The big problem here is the Commission's relations with private companies."

Danish Liberal Ole Sorensen argued that if it is proven that both Eurostat and the publications office are implicated in a scandal involving fictitious contracts and secret bank accounts, "it would be fair to ask if there are any other offices that have those problems".

"Both of these offices are based in Luxembourg. Perhaps we should ask if they are too far away from Brussels for us to keep an eye on them?"

Irishman Cranfield was in the news last year, when he was appointed hearing officer by Commission Vice-President Neil Kinnock in a disciplinary case (still continuing) against Marta Andreasen, who lost her post as chief accountant in the institution after complaining its bookkeeping system was "vulnerable to fraud".

Allegations of possible wrongdoing in the publications office were included in a dossier complied by another Commission whistleblower, Paul van Buitenen, in 2001.

Cranfield was unavailable for comment last night (10 September).

Meanwhile, the budget control committee voted on Monday to recommend that half of Eurostat's operational and 25% of its administrative funds (€21 million and €3 million respectively) should be frozen until the EU executive provides clarity about its "internal communication lines", designed to allow commissioners and top officials to stamp out irregularities.

This followed anger by MEPs over claims by Commissioners Pedro Solbes and Michaele Schreyer that accusations against Eurostat had not been brought to their attention.

During a debate on the EU budget for 2004, it also voted that 15% of OLAF's administrative budget (€6.3 million) should only be unblocked when Franz-Hermann Brüner, its director-general, explains why some of its investigations are dragged out for more than nine months.

Commission President Romano Prodi is scheduled to appear before political group leaders in the Parliament on 25 September to answer questions on Eurostat.

The European Commission's publications office has launched a new enquiry into possible fraud committed by Eurostat, the Commission's statistical agency, which is already embroiled in a fraud scandal.