Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-30-Speech-3-195"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010530.11.3-195"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, for an organisation with an expenditure in excess of EUR 92 billion the Financial Regulation is almost the most important legal basis for ensuring careful use of European money and preventing abuse so far as possible. It is more necessary than ever to stress this aspect because the Commission itself informed us two weeks ago that the sum of money lost as a result of fraud and irregularities in the year 2000 amounts to an impressive EUR 2028 million. That really is nothing for Europe to be proud of! Remedial action is more than necessary. The only question is how the Commission proposes to rectify the situation.
As part of its reform programme it wants to abolish the independent financial controller, the very institution that experience shows to have been the most successful in combating fraud – I only have to mention the Fléchard case. That is like the police ordering all guard dogs to be put down after the number of burglaries in a residential area has doubled. Parliament has argued for decentralised independent financial control, in fact it has voted for it several times, most recently on 4 April 2001 in the preliminary report for discharge for 1998. The financial controller is also anchored in the Treaty. An
internal auditor is not a financial controller in new clothing but a dummy package that for my group at any rate is unacceptable.
A necessary counterpart to independent financial control is the clear assignment of responsibility, of liability for deliberate contraventions or neglect of duty by officials such as is, incidentally, found in the national laws of all the Fifteen. It seems to me that the Commission’s reform efforts will in this instance result in financial responsibility being passed to and fro like in a marshalling yard until in the end nobody knows what track it is on.
The Financial Regulation should make for clarity, transparency and comprehensibility in the implementation of the budget. That is the only way we shall get the citizens to accept it!"@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples