WRITTEN QUESTION E-0339/99

by Edith Müller (V) to the Commission

(23 February 1999)

Subject: Forwarding of Commission reports on internal investigations

By letter of 9 October 1998, the President of the Commission informed the President of the European Parliament that the Committee on Budgetary Control would in future receive final Commission internal reports on its investigations before these were forwarded to the relevant judicial authority. The Commission nevertheless, on 23 November 1998, forwarded its report concerning its internal investigations into irregularities affecting selection procedure COM/A/8-12/98 to the Belgian judicial authorities without informing Parliament in advance.

1. Can the Commission state why Parliament was not informed in accordance with the information received from the Commission President?

2. When will the report be made available to the Committee on Budgetary Control?

3. What department was interviewed by the officials conducting the investigations?

4. Was the UCLAF anti-fraud unit involved? If not why not?

5. Does the report contain recommendations that disciplinary proceedings should be brought against certain officials?

6. Have disciplinary proceedings been opened or officials suspended from their duties? If so, in how many cases and with what results? If not why not?

7. Can the Commission confirm that it has evidence that staff from the Office or Offices of one or more Commission Members could be involved in these irregularities?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(7 April 1999)

In response to the Honourable Member's question, the Commission would point out that as soon as it became known that irregularities had occurred during the competition held on 14 September 1998 the appointing authority ordered an administrative inquiry into the circumstances.

In the light of the administrative inquiry and given the seriousness of the matter, by letter dated 28 October 1998 the appointing authority lodged a complaint against "X" with the Brussels public prosecutor in respect of fraud and irregularities in the context of open competition COM/A/12. The inquiry, however, did not provide enough data for disciplinary proceedings to be initiated against any particular official.

The facts in question did not justify opening an investigation by the Task Force for Coordination of Fraud Prevention (UCLAF) as such, but at the request of the appointing authority an UCLAF official was appointed to head the administrative inquiry.

At the request of the Brussels judicial authorities, and in order not to jeopardise the judicial inquiry currently under way, the utmost discretion must be maintained with respect to this case. The judicial authorities have also asked that any inquiry within the Commission be discontinued pending action by the said authorities themselves.

The Member of the Commission responsible for personnel informed Parliament of this situation at the meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Control on 25 November 1998.

The Commission is not aware of any element in the inquiry that would imply the involvement of staff from the Offices of Members of the Commission.

The Commission will inform Parliament in full as soon as the procedures under way have been completed.