Brussels, 14/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - Adopting the report by Herbert Bösch (PES, Austria) on the Commission's 2001 report on fraud, (Europe of 4 July 2002), the EP deplored the way the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF has carried out its enquiries to date into allegations of fraud by private companies working with Eurostat, congratulating the Greek Presidency for apparently ending Italy's blocking of the appointment of the OLAF Supervisory Committee.
Explaining that OLAF sent two cases (EuroCost and Eurogramme) to court in Luxembourg (see Europe of 10 July 2002), the EP noted that the company Eurogramme made false statements to the Commission about its financial situation and the qualifications of its staff and that the Luxembourg-based ASBL EuroCost was accused of serious irregularities (the balance sheet, double and treble project funding and theft of IT equipment) resulting in damage to the EU budget of more than 1 million euros. The EP said it was "incomprehensible" that the Commission signed 70 contracts from 1996 to 2001 with Eurogramme (for more than EUR 2 million in 2000 and 2001) and three further contracts in 2002. The EP hailed the Commission's desire to suspend all its contracts with Eurogramme, but asks whether the senior Eurostat official who was a founder member and one-time President of EuroCost had been able to ensure the company had been subsidised by the EU for more than a decade.
The EP expressed surprise that Luxembourg has never reported a single irregularity; said it is "unacceptable" for the Commission to consider offering (Italy) special treatment in view of the sum outstanding (EUR 1.4 billion for the period until 2002); and expressed concern that only Greece has reported Cohesion Fund fraud and not Spain, Ireland or Portugal.