| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.35, 23.10.03, p3 |
| Publication Date | 23/10/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 23/10/03 THE European Parliament's budget control committee (Cocobu) has rejected an appeal by lawyers representing Yves Franchet, the former Eurostat director-general, to appear before the committee. They wrote to Cocobu chairwoman Diemut Theato, in response to comments by Commission President Romano Prodi, who accused Franchet of betraying "the legitimate trust his political masters had placed in him". The plea by Laure Levi and Georges Vandersanden, of Brussels law firm DeBacker, was backed by two committee members, Chris Heaton-Harris (UK Conservative) and Generoso Andria (Forza Italia), but rejected by the rest. German Socialist Helmut Kuhne claimed Heaton-Harris and Andria wanted to interfere in a legal investigation in Paris. That case was triggered by the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF, which implicated Franchet and fellow ex-Eurostat employee Daniel Byk in the misuse of the Union's funds by the French company Planistat. "These proposals could only be tabled by those who wish that the judicial proceeding in Paris is abandoned," he said. "These so-called Eurosceptics have no interest in resolving the questions raised in relation to the Eurostat affair. What they want is a saga that will never finish, so that they can show to their partisans that the Commission may not be reformed and the Parliament is not willing to shed light on this affair." Heaton-Harris claimed the remarks were an attempt to divert attention from Spanish socialist Pedro Solbes, the commissioner for economic and monetary affairs. "To describe this as a nasty Eurosceptic plot is fairly cheap. If my party and I were that well organized, we would be in government." |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs, Politics and International Relations |
