Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-18-Speech-2-051"
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"en.20031118.2.2-051"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us consider the Eurostat affair. I am very disappointed by the measures announced by President Prodi, which indicate that the will to really tackle these problems is absent. Above all, I note the absence of changes in structure and personnel, for example changes to the responsibilities of the three Commissioners concerned.
Let me just remind you how this House, right at the beginning of this Commission’s term of office, wanted to hold fast to the separation of the budget and budgetary control, precisely in order to avoid the conflicts of interest that face us now. I find no trace of any serious reprimand for the three Commissioners responsible, making it clear that they were in breach of their supervisory responsibilities and of their duty of care. That, Mr President, is something that every ordinary employee, in similar circumstances, has to guarantee in the course of his employment. Thirdly, the controls must be made much more effective, as Eurostat is, in my view, a shining example of how all the Commission’s checks and balances can fail. It would have been easy for you to take at least one or two of these three possible courses of action, but you have taken none of them.
What this means, Mr Prodi, is that, for the second time since 25 September, you have failed to draw a line under the affair and regain the trust of Parliament and the public. There is one thing that I will not under any circumstances allow you to get away with, and that is your assertion that the reform of the Commission will be completed only in 2004 and that a Eurostat case will no longer be possible. Let me tell you that the opposite will be the case, as your reforms and the new Financial Regulation will weaken control still further. As a result of the abolition of the independent auditors, the Directors-General possess power to an unparalleled degree. Let me ask you this: is that really what you want? Democracy needs control, and an entity as deficient in democracy as the Commission certainly does."@en1
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