Brussels, 10/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Monday 9 March, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he had informed the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of possible financial irregularities by the French Front National (FN - the party of Marine Le Pen MEP), provoking a response from its members.
“Acting upon a notification by the European Parliament administration and in respect of the European Parliament rules of procedures, President Martin Schulz on Monday informed the European fraud-fighting office OLAF of possible financial irregularities by the French party Front National”, the European Parliament stated in a press release, confirming news that had earlier appeared in French daily newspaper Le Monde. “The possible irregularities concern salaries paid from the EU budget to assistants to Members of the European Parliament.”
In February, the European Parliament administration took note of the organigram of the French FN party and found that it listed 20 assistants to MEPs - although assistants paid by the European Parliament must perform work directly linked to the exercise of an MEP's parliamentary mandate, the Parliament stated. The FN immediately said it would lodge a complaint against Schulz's false allegations. Schulz has furthermore been accused of acting in the interests of France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
The Parliament says in its press release that the possible irregularities raised by the Parliament administration relate to the statute of MEPs and, specifically, its implementing measures, which say in Article 33, paragraph 2, that “only expenses for assistance which is necessary and directly linked to the exercise of a Member's parliamentary mandate may be defrayed” by the European Parliament's budget. “Expenses linked to a Member's private life may on no account be defrayed”. Article 43 of the statute's implementing measures says that the money paid out for assistants' salaries “may not be used directly or indirectly (...) to finance contracts concluded with Parliament's political groups or political parties”. The irregularities are also reported to relate to the national party's organigram.
Loss of €7.5 million? The FN organigram lists “four 'accredited' assistants and 16 'local' assistants. In their labour contract, ten of the local assistants have given the address of the Front National headquarters in Nanterre. Also, their job description in their labour contracts differs from the ones in the National Front organigram or on its website. Moreover, according to the National Front's own organigram certain assistants do not work for the Member with whom they have concluded their labour contract. Nine further local assistants to National Front MEPs gave the Nanterre headquarters address as their working address”, the European Parliament states. In its complaint to OLAF, the European Parliament is reported to believe the potential damage stands at €7.5 million - in other words, the total salaries paid to assistants since the start of the legislature. The national parliamentarian Marion Maréchal-Le Pen considered these allegations “preposterous”. Having come first in the European elections in France, the FN sent 23 MEPs to the European Parliament but Marine Le Pen then failed to form her parliamentary group. (Solenn Paulic)