[autom.vertaling] Eurostat een ' groot probleem ', zegt interne auditor (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Commission came under fire over its handling of the Eurostat case, as it became apparent that more facts have yet to emerge about the irregularities in the EU statistical arm.

MEPs demanded answers yesterday evening (3 November) on how details about the existence of illegal reserves in Eurostat were removed from a memo addressed to the cabinet of Economic and Monetary affairs, led by Commissioner Pedro Solbes, in July last year.

This new revelation, disclosed in the confidential report drawn up by the internal audit service (IAS) of the Commission, is putting yet more pressure on the Spanish Commissioner who faces calls by various MEPs to take political responsibility and resign over the Eurostat affair.

Mr Solbes angered MEPs last July when he said that he could not accept responsibility for something he did not know about. This latest discovery however shows that at least somebody within his cabinet knew.

"Someone in Solbes' cabinet knew [about the illegal reserves]", UK Conservative MEP Chris Heaton Harris told this news site.

But that is not the only problem.

Another Commissioner, Chris Patten, who is in charge of external relations, is also likely to face a grilling by MEPs after the IAS report revealed that Aidco, the EuropeAid Co-operation Office, which he chairs, authorised 35 million euro in contracts "without tender" to one firm.

The company was kept as "sole contractor", mostly for projects in the former Soviet Union, despite objections by Aidco's own finance chief.

"I think this is serious, and he should explain", Portuguese Socialist Paulo Casaca, who has been pushing for Mr Patten to appear before the Budgetary Control Committee, said yesterday.

Chief internal auditor: legacy of problems in Eurostat

More salt was added to the wound when the Commission's chief internal auditor himself said on Monday that the Commission needs to further improve its governance as investigations revealed "lack of transparency and communication" in the statistical agency.

"Not all the problems have been shared as they should between the relevant authorities", said Jules Muis.

He also mentioned a "legacy of problems" waiting to be discovered. These will only become apparent when "better controls" are put in place.

Mr Muis urged the Commission to follow up on the findings of the internal audit report.

"There is a need for open communication", he said, and "heavy sanctions for people who violate the rules".

In its report, distributed to MEPs on Monday last week, the IAS investigated 400 contracts that were concluded by Eurostat between 1999 and 2002.

It emerged that over 450 million euro were concluded in contracts which were awarded in an opaque way.

The auditors also had difficulties retrieving necessary documentation from certain departments in the Commission and were unable to access crucial information and records, which would have shed light on whether and when the illegal reserve practices were discontinued.