EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/271

(2004/C 84 E/0319)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3945/03

by Marco Pannella (NI), Maurizio Turco (NI), Marco Cappato (NI), Gianfranco Dell'Alba (NI), Benedetto Della Vedova (NI) and Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(22 December 2003)

Subject: Use of EU funds for terrorist organisations and checks on funding for the PNA

According to reports published in the German weekly ‘Stern’ and the UK daily ‘The Independent’, OLAF and the Belgian police have opened investigations into alleged transfers of EU funds to a militant Palestinian group which is directly responsible for suicide attacks that have claimed victims among the Israeli civilian population. These investigations arise from the allegation that funds intended for the PNA were diverted to the ‘Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade’, through affiliated organisations in Germany and Belgium. In Germany, the investigations began in Aachen but appear also to concern a cell in Verviers (Belgium). It is claimed that these groups asked for EU funding for an immigration-related project, but that the funds were subsequently transferred to Al-Aqsa, a group which is on the Union's list of banned organisations. These allegations represent only a part of the charges now being investigated by the Belgian authorities.

The Commission appears to have decided to earmark the annual sum of EUR 80 million to the PAN to help it pay its debts to small businesses and fund social services, plus a further EUR 10 million in support of the peace process.

Can the Commission state:

— whether it is aware of or is in a position to refute the press reports concerning the OLAF investigations, and whether these are the same investigations as those being conducted by the German and Belgian authorities;

— whether it is aware of those actions or is in contact with the German and Belgian authorities with a view to obtaining information on the course of other relevant investigations;

— what checks are being made to ascertain whether funding to the PNA has been diverted to Palestinian terrorist groups;

— on what grounds the annual sums earmarked for the PNA have been tied to the payment of its debts with small businesses, and whether specific checks have been made as to where and how the sums transferred thus far from the EU to the PNA have been utilised?

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2004)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Members that according to the information provided by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), OLAF has opened a number of investigations designed to check suspicions of possible misappropriation of Community funds paid in support of the operating budget of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and to finance humanitarian and development projects presented by Palestinian associations or organisations. The relevant investigations are being conducted intensively and without interruption.

The findings of the above investigations into non-governmental associations or organisations have prompted OLAF to report certain facts, not involving the funding of terrorist organisations, to the competent judicial authorities. In this connection OLAF is collaborating closely with the Member States' judicial authorities and actively assisting them.

On the basis of the information currently in OLAF's possession, there is no link between the abovementioned investigations nor any evidence that funds paid by the Commission have been used to finance terrorist organisations banned by the Union.

The PNA has to contend with a chronic financing deficit and has had to defer payment of bills for social security and from private firms, which has put these firms in an even more difficult situation and helped to increase unemployment appreciably. The Union's EUR 80 million allocation is therefore being used to repay the government's arrears on what is due to the private sector and social security payments. At the same time this allocation is subject to the application of essential reforms to the PNA by means of conditions attached to disbursements.

The Commission has set up a technical assistance team under the responsibility of DG AIDCO which checks and approves one by one all the arrears invoices before the amount involved is released. To date a total of some EUR 6,0 million out of the EUR 80 million scheduled in 2003 has been released. The checks performed by the technical assistance team are backed by further verification by an auditor seconded from a European national audit board working under an ad hoc contract.