Parliament must be held accountable Nov02 |
In January 2002, Marta
Andreasen was the first chartered accountant ever to be appointed by the
European Commission. It is unbelievable that to that date the Commission
had not employed professional accountants to manage an EU budget of
€96bn! Andreasen identified a
number of major weaknesses in the accounting system that made it
impossible for her to approve the accounts for 2001. Her suggestions for
reform were rejected and she was suspended for her integrity and
professionalism. An international firm
of accountants could easily verify Marta Andreasen's allegation against
the European Commission's mismanagement of accounts. Furthermore, these
external auditors could also determine whether the EU's annual accounts
for the period 1991-2001 are reliable. The European
Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (Westminster equivalent of the
Parliamentary Accounts Committee) invited Marta Andreasen to give
evidence. The European Commission blocked this request. This is contrary
to Article 197 of the Treaty of the European Union that authorises
Parliament to investigate any financial misdeed in any of the EU
institutions. European citizens
should protest and demand that the Council overrule the Commission's
decision and allow MEPs to investigate and expose the truth. With more
than 80% of the EU Budget remaining unaccountable, it is no wonder our
citizens and taxpayers are disillusioned with the EU!
|