20/10/2004 (Agence Europe) -FDP MEP Silvana Koch-Mehrin (ALDE) underlined in a press statement the need for drawing the lessons of the affair involving "false statistics in Greece concerning its budget deficit" (see p.7, on declarations by Commissioner Almunia regarding the possibility of sending out experts to Greece). If these irregularities are not punished it will be a "scandal", exclaimed the German MEP. She is supporting the proposals by Commissioner Almunia to strengthen the personnel at Eurostat as she says that only 7 collaborators for inspecting the statistics of Member States concerning their deficits, is "too few".