Brussels, 27/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Jacqueline McGlade, the managing director of the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency, is reported to have spent a fortune on training for her staff in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and €300,000 on greenery at the EEA's offices, according to a report discussed by the EP's budgetary control committee on 27 March 2012.
Marta Andreason (EFD, UK) said that the bad use of taxpayers' money here simply took one's breath away and the director should immediately be sacked. The €300,000 spent on staff training was spent on training in biodiversity projects run by Earth Watch, an NGO for which McGlade was a consultant at the time.
In a document provided to the EP, the EEA says that €33,791.28 was spent on 29 staff training lessons in various locations. It says that the arrangements for the staff attending the courses were made before the director general became a consultant for Earth Watch and the projects in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are in line with the EEA's work programme priorities, namely raising awareness about environmental issues and developing expertise during International Biodiversity Year. (AN/transl.fl)