EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 70/227

(2004/C 70 E/244)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3162/03

by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission

(24 October 2003)

Subject: Fraud involving the resources of the European Social Fund

The European Social Fund, which comes under the direct responsibility of the Commission, allocates DKK 500 million each year in Denmark. The purpose of these appropriations is to help guarantee high employment, the integration of refugees and immigrants, equality between men and women, sustainable development in all regions of Denmark and economic and social cohesion.

In Denmark a body known as ‘Paraplyorganisationen for de Etniske Mindretal’ (umbrella organisation for ethnic minorities — POEM) was allocated DKR 2 million from the Social Fund. The money was administered by the Danish Integration Ministry and the City of Copenhagen. With this money, POEM hired a private firm (Inplacement) which offered courses intended to help unemployed immigrants find work. In an article of 15 October 2003 the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet showed that all participants on the course fail, and that the course does not qualify its participants for jobs. It also appears that POEM has doubtful legal competence to deal with the firm of Inplacement, since it turns out that the deputy chairman of POEM is the sister of the director of Inplacement. That being so, the Integration Ministry suspended payments to POEM.

In order to obtain economic support both from the EU and from Denmark, POEM supplied fraudulent information concerning the number of its members listing member organisations which had never existed. It provided money for bogus courses which did not qualify their participants for jobs, but instead channelled EU monies to private firms having family connections with leading members of its own organisation. This immigrants' organisation did not live up to the objectives of the Social Fund regarding the integration of immigrants, and should never have received a penny from the Social Fund.

What measures does the Commission propose to take to ensure that appropriations from the Social Fund can no longer be paid to organisations which commit fraud with the Fund's money and in any case do not comply with the objectives of the Fund, and how will the Commission recover the money which it has paid out under false pretences?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

In accordance with Commission Regulation (CE) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions of the Structural Funds (1), Article 38, the Danish Managing Authority has the main responsibility for carrying out audit and control for the European Social Fund in Denmark in order to ensure the correct use of funds. The Commission's responsibility in the first instance is to assess whether each Member State has a system of audit and control which gives sufficient assurance of proper management of the Structural Funds. In July 2003 such a system test was carried out in Denmark by the audit and control services of the Commission. The Commission concluded at that time that the Danish system did indeed provide sufficient assurance.

The Danish Managing Authority is aware of the allegations levelled at POEM and has initiated the carrying out of further controls of the project to ascertain the validity of the allegations in order to determine appropriate action. The Commission is closely monitoring the Danish Managing Authority's control of the project concerned and any actions to be taken. If ESF funds have been wrongly paid out, they will be recovered by the Danish Managing Authority.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.