Cox: Fraud claim a ‘slur’ on Parliament

By Martin Banks

Date: 01/04/04

HANDWRITING tests found no evidence of abuse among observer deputiess accused of fiddling their expenses, European Parliament President Pat Cox has told this newspaper.

Parliament brought in graphologists to find out whether observers had faked attendance at Parliamentary sessions in order to pick up generous daily allowances. An unspecified number of observers from accession states have allegedly asked colleagues to sign for them on the Parliament's attendance register while being in their home countries.

Signing on for a session entitles MEPs to a daily allowance of €262 .

Although observers seem to be exonorated by the tests' conclusions, Parliament was this week rocked by renewed claims of expense fraud among some of the 626 full members.

Austrian MEP Hans-Peter Martin has sparked a row in Strasbourg by announcing he documented 7,200 cases of colleagues signing on for sessions that they had missed since February 2001.

"I have witnessed almost 200 MEPs hurrying to the central register to sign on for a session and then watched them drive to the nearest airport or station," he said.

"There are countless MEPs who go to Strasbourg and Brussels simply to pick up the €262. They have told me so themselves."

The Austrian says the alleged scam was particularly rife on Fridays, as MEPs spent Thursday night in Strasbourg so they could sign in the next day, before setting off on a long weekend.

Martin, an MEP since 1999, has previously been an investigative reporter.

Yesterday (31 March), he published the names of 85 German and Austrian MEPs who he says have abused the expenses system. The list includes senior members, such as Hans-Gert Pöttering, the leader of the assembly's biggest party, the European People's Party, centre-right deputy Elmar Brok, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, and Socialist group deputy leader Martin Schulz.

One list names 57 members who, Martin says, left the Parliament in Brussels within one hour of signing the attendance register, while a second names 43 MEPs who allegedly signed the register on Friday morning during the plenary session in Strasbourg even though there are no meetings on that day. Some names appear on both lists.

The allegations prompted cross-party German members, including Pöttering, Schulz and Greens co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit to stage an unprecedented joint news conference on Tuesday (30 March) at which they branded Martin's allegations as unjustified and urged him to come forward with evidence.

Brok said Martin's claims were an "acute embarrassment" for the Parliament. "He should put up or shut up. Five years hard work by the vast majority of MEPs has gone down the drain thanks to this."

But Martin points out that while there may not be anything illegal in it, the practice is "morally wrong" and should cease.

Pöttering, who appears on both lists, said that while he often signed the attendance register in Strasbourg on Fridays he had "good reason" to do so.

Pat Cox has asked Martin to back up his claims. "I refuse to accept that the bulk of MEPs are engaged in expense fraud. I regard such suggestions as a slur on the good name and integrity of this Parliament," he told European Voice.

Cox pointed out that MEPs could legitimately claim their daily allowance if they were present in either Brussels or Strasbourg, whether or not they took part in debates, as they could be working in their offices or writing reports.

He added that the failure to agree a members' statute before the elections had left the European Parliament open to such allegations.

Austrian MEP Hans-Peter Martin claims to have documented 7,200 cases of colleagues signing on for European Parliament sessions that they had not attended.