CoR accused of misleading the Parliament

By Martin Banks

Date: 10/03/05

A minority group of MEPs on the European Parliament's budgetary control committee is calling for approval of the Committee of the Regions' (CoR) accounts to be postponed, accusing the institution of misleading them.

UK Independence Party member Jeffrey Titford, Danish Eurosceptic MEP Jens-Peter Bonde and Swedish Independence and Democracy deputy Nils Lundgren, said that the CoR had "at the very least, deliberately misled Parliament" by saying that no officials investigated by the EU's anti-fraud office had been promoted.

OLAF launched an inquiry in 2003 after the CoR's internal auditor had raised concern about rigged tendering procedures and abuse of expenses.

"In fact, the CoR administration specifically recommended for promotion a number of these officials immediately after Parliament had finally granted discharge to the CoR for the 2001 accounts and in spite of OLAF's findings and conclusions," said the dissident MEPs.

But in a report to be discussed by the budgetary control committee next Wednesday (16 March), the centre-right Finnish MEP Alexander Stubb said: "The CoR has made strenuous efforts to bring its administration up to speed by initiating an administrative overhaul."

Of the 35 measures approved by the CoR just over a year ago, 17 had been "entirely" implemented, he said.

A spokesman for the CoR said that none of the officials criticised in the OLAF report had been promoted.

A minority group of MEPs on the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee was calling for approval of the Committee of the Regions' (CoR) accounts to be postponed, accusing the institution of misleading them. UK Independence Party member Jeffrey Titford, Danish Eurosceptic MEP Jens-Peter Bonde and Swedish Independence and Democracy deputy Nils Lundgren, said that the CoR had 'at the very least, deliberately misled Parliament' by saying that no officials investigated by the EU's anti-fraud office had been promoted.

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