Brussels, 01/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EP Budgetary Control Committee will submit to the next plenary session a report on the protection of the Communities financial interests, which puts forward the frauds concerning butter and flax, but without giving them a problematic tone. The report by Hubert Bosch (Austrian Social Democrat) on the Commission's annual report on the protection of the Communities financial interests notably underlines that the "complete elucidation of very serious cases of fraud noted constitutes a tests of effectiveness for OLAF", and that the Commission must prove that it intends to uphold its promises. For the frauds in the butter market, the Bosch report does not place emphasis on the Fléchard case, which was at the centre of the heated arguments in the last discharge procedure and was the object of work by the parliamentary follow-up committee. This case is in fact raised, without being directly cited, in relation to the case of adulterated milk, which was uncovered last year by OLAF (European anti-fraud office). The Bosch report underlines that the circumstances in which the Commission recommended to reduce the fine imposed on this company remains to be uncovered and will be the object of a EP report asked OLAF.
Previous versions of the Bosch report mentions, among others, the high ranking complicity with the Ministry for Agriculture from which would have benefited the persons involved in the manifestly planned systematic fraud that would have affected Community subsidies to Flax. The Budgetary Control Committee, in adopting an compromise amendment proposed by the rapporteur himself, finally withdrew the notion of "complicity". The report underlines on the one hand that it is the regional authorities that "apparently" granted aid in breach of the Community rules (let us recall that the allocation of competences in Spain is one of the main arguments put forward by Commissioner de Palacio, then Agriculture Minister, to explain why she could not be considered politically responsible in this case, since it is the autonomous communities, which manage and control Community aids). Though the Bosch report adds that on the other hand the OLAF report on this case is still awaited, which should indicated whether the competent national authorities failed to perform their supervisory role properly.
The Budgetary Control Committee also welcomes the fact that several Member Sates have joined the Commission's complaint against Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds.
The report works towards underlining the importance of OLAF's independence and denounces the persistent problems that present themselves in the recruitment of management personnel, feeling that it is unacceptable that candidates for management positions in OLAF are approved by a nomination committee instituted by the Commission.
Finally the report once more calls on the Commission to propose the creation of a European Public Ministry, which, initially and before a modification of the Treaties, will be exclusively responsible for the crimes committed against the financial interests of the Community by members or agents of the European institutions.