Mr President, Commissioner Verheugen, the arrest of the President of the Court of Auditors in Nicaragua, Mr Agustín Jarquín, and the institutional changes which must be seen as undermining the Court of Auditors fill us with great concern. We agree with the representatives of the Member States in the Council and, if I have understood correctly, Commissioner Verheugen, we are in agreement with the European Commission. We have just learned that the ambassador of Nicaragua in Brussels has resigned because he no longer wishes to represent this government in Nicaragua following the incidents of the past week. Mr Agustín Jarquín is an upstanding democrat and has carried out his work as President of the Court of Auditors in a highly efficient and impartial manner. This view is shared not only by those of us who knew him personally, but also by his colleagues at other courts of auditors in Central America and the Caribbean who elected him as president of the OCCEFS. Even the representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the Interamerican Development Bank supported his appointment. Obviously his work was too efficient for the liking of some members of the present and previous Nicaraguan government. The government has been systematically undermining the Court of Auditors over recent months. This undermining culminated in a pact concluded between the government and a previous governing party. This pact resulted in the abolition of the office of President of the Court of Auditors and the installation of a party-politically dominated committee. On 10 November this year, the former President of the Court of Auditors, Agustín Jarquín, was arrested on grounds which, in our view, do not, under any circumstances, constitute grounds for arrest. The European Union and the European Parliament in particular cannot accept the systematic undermining of the Court of Auditors. We in the European Parliament forced the European Commission to resign because it was unable to defend itself against accusations of the inefficient management of funds levied by the Court of Auditors and others in Europe. Imagine what would happen if the President of the Court of Auditors or a prominent representative of an auditing authority were thrown into jail on such flimsy grounds! I think the outcry would be enormous. As far as are aware, there is no cause for concern at the moment about Mr Jarquín’s health, but we shall monitor the situation closely to ensure that he is treated properly. We are particularly worried at reports that his family, and his daughter in particular, have been physically attacked. I would ask the Commission to monitor this very closely. I would now like to address the President of Nicaragua, Dr Arnoldo Alemán, in Spanish. (ES) Mr President of Nicaragua, we would like to help your people. The Nicaraguan people, having suffered so many natural disasters, need help urgently, but European Union cooperation with the Government of Nicaragua is only possible if basic standards in terms of human rights and democracy are respected and if the administration of funds is safeguarded in accordance with the law. To this end, a strong and independent Court of Auditors is required. Mr President, if the welfare of your people concerns you, please stop systematically weakening the Court of Auditors and its members and reverse the decision to remove the post of General Auditor, the so-called “Pact”. Thank you. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE