Brussels, 04/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, as foreseen, close to 180 MEPs handed to Pat Cox their request for an investigative committee to verify whether Community aid to the Palestinian Authority has been diverted and misused. The MEPs at the root of this request, who justified their motivation by the desire to ensure transparency of accounts, asserted that this was in no way an initiative against the Palestinians or the European Commission. This request, as well as the request for the establishment of a working group on the matter (see yesterday's EUROPE, p. 15, and of 25 January, p. 13), will be debated on 14 February in Strasbourg by the EP Conference of Presidents, who will carry the heavy burden of ruling in favour of one or other solution.
Charles Tannock (British Conservative), who wrote, on Tuesday, a column on this problem in the Wall Street Journal Europe, stated the same day that, contrary to what was asserted by most left-wing MEPs in the EP, 'our initiative is not against the Palestinians. On the contrary, it is they who have the most to gain by moving towards reform and by becoming more credible partners in the negotiations. Our initiative was motivated by the desire to ensure that EU funds are not misused by corruption or, more worryingly, for terrorist ends.' For Willy De Clercq (Belgian Liberal), this request for the formation of an investigative committee, which is an 'explicit right' of any parliament (national or European), aims for the truth, which depends upon transparency. 'This initiative must benefit not only the people who suffer, but also the EU which spends more than EUR 10 million per month' to help the Palestinians, asserted Mr. De Clerq, adding that the initiative was not a political act, but 'an act for information, which is the beginning of knowledge, and thus of wisdom.' François Zimeray (French Socialist) repeated that he was willing to ask for Palestinian aid to be doubled if EU aid is verified to be truly destined for education and the promotion of peace. He also assured that this was not a 'personal' initiative and directed against the Commission. Frédérique Ries (Belgian Liberal) asserted that the new Palestinian Minister for Finance personally recognised that corruption existed and that system could not be transparent. She explained that the initiative formed part of a logic of support towards efforts to reform the country and the proper running of the upcoming elections. She one more repeated that the aim was not to attack the Commission.
However, certain sources who prefer to remain anonymous accuse the Commission of 'manipulation', as it: - indicates that the checks on its aid are sufficient, while the IMF investigations do not concern the funds in question and the checks within the Commission, which are purely formalities, do not allow for verifications on the final destination of funds; - claims that the European parliamentarian initiative could lead to the cutting of aid to the Palestinians, while some of these MEPs even favour a 'Marshall Plan' for the region; - favours the formation of a working group on the issue, while members of such a group would have no powers of investigation (they could only, according to these sources, peruse very superficial elements); - has contacted parliamentarians for them to withdraw their signature, and that many MEPs have done so following pressure place upon them.
In the recitals accompanying their request for the formation of an investigating committee, the MEPs assert that, according to a report by the Israeli government, which is based on documents found in the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority during the 'operation shield' last year, everything leads to believe that more than 10% of the Authority's budget is diverted and used for unknown ends. According to this text, other documents presented to the European Commission by Dani Naveh, the Israeli Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, show that Yasser Arafat has signed authorisations for payments to persons that have taken part in terrorist acts.