EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/262

(2004/C 84 E/0310)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3905/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(17 December 2003)

Subject: Eurostat enquiry: OLAF task force disbanded

As is stated on its official web site, the ‘mission of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is to protect the interests of the European Union, to fight fraud, corruption and any other irregular activity, including misconduct within the European Institutions. In pursuing this mission in an accountable, transparent and cost-effective manner, OLAF aims to provide a quality service to the citizens of Europe’. In view of these noble intentions, one cannot but be dismayed to hear from the lips of the OLAF Director, Franz Hermann Bruner, that the task force which President Prodi announced had been set up to carry out an in-depth enquiry into the Eurostat affair has been disbanded at the behest of Mr Prodi himself. Mr Bruner also said that he had not had enough staff or resources to conduct the enquiry in a proper fashion.

Given the above, would the Commission say:

1. why its President, Mr Prodi, disbanded the task force?

2. whether, during its existence, the task force was able to carry out the task set for it, namely to conduct an in-depth, conclusive enquiry into the Eurostat affair? If it was, what were its findings?

3. why it took Mr Bruner so long to make known the difficulties his organisation was experiencing? Did the Commission monitor the work of the task force which it set up? If it did, how did it fail to notice the problems to which Mr Bruner has referred?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(24 February 2004)

The mission of the Eurostat Task Force (TFES) was set by the Commission on 23 July 2003. The TFES was required to report to the Commission on the financial circuits applying in Eurostat, the authorisation procedures, the day-to-day arrangements for dealing with outside contractors and the remedial instructions given by management and the action taken on these instructions.

The TFES reported to the Commission on 24 September 2003 and this report was made available to the members of the Committee on Budgetary Control (Cocobu) on 24 September 2003 subject to the confidentiality arrangements laid down in accordance with Annex III of the framework agreement of 5 July 2000 on relations between Parliament and the Commission (1).

The Commission accordingly decided on 8 October 2003 to terminate the secondment of the Head of the Task Force and to temporarily suspend the secondment of the other members.

It should be added that by decision of the Director of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of 18 July 2003 a Eurostat Task Force was set up within OLAF for the anti-fraud investigations which were within the jurisdiction of the independent office. The two Task Forces worked in parallel and jointly, each pursuing its specific objectives and with due respect for their autonomy.

OLAF considers that an administrative inquiry on top of the current judicial investigations and OLAF's own investigations is not necessary at the present time.

The TFES worked satisfactorily and the Commission transmitted its findings to Parliament (Committee on Budgetary Control) as agreed by the Presidents of Parliament and the Commission.

In response to the request made by the Commission on 21 May 2003 to coordinate the various aspects of the case, the Secretary-General set up an interdepartmental coordination group, made up of representatives of the principal departments and cabinets concerned by the ESTAT affair.

This group met regularly from June to September 2003. The Director of OLAF was able to inform the group of the problems encountered by his departments. OLAF was then provided with support from the administration to install the resources required (staff and offices).

It should be noted that the Commission has considered the difficulties encountered by OLAF with utmost attention, in particular in the allocation of resources exercises. This is done in the light of the resources provided by the budgetary authority.

(1) When President Prodi attended the Conference of Presidents, enlarged to include the members of Cocobu, on 25 September 2003, the report of the TFES and the 2nd interim report of the IAS were made available to the members of Cocobu subject to the above condtions of confidentiality; those present at the meeting on 25 September were individually given an envelope containing the summaries of these reports and an information note from OLAF providing a summary of the Eurostat affairs currently closed.