The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly
in support of Parliament's reports on granting discharge to the accounts of the Council, Commission and the EU's agencies.
Conservatives voted against granting discharge because, for the eleventh year running, the Court of Auditors has been unable to give a positive statement of assurance of the overall EU accounts. Conservatives believe that this must be tackled as a matter of urgency by the Commission. There must be a zero tolerance of all cases of mismanagement and fraud and there are three main areas to focus on:
First, the new accountancy systems put in place in January 2005 must be monitored closely to ensure that they will deliver world class standards of accounts.
Second, whistleblowers must not only have their rights vigorously defended, they must be encouraged to come forward.
Third, the issue that concerned the Auditors most was the 80% of the budget that is spent in Member States. The Commission is responsible for the expenditure of all EU funds but, in reality, the power is delegated to paying agencies in Member States. The objective, as the President of the Court of Auditors has suggested, must be the introduction of the principle of making Member States responsible for this expenditure.
Postponed vote on granting discharge to the Parliament
As a result of the on-going controversy over the Strasbourg buildings rent payments, Parliament voted to postpone granting discharge to its own 2004 accounts for six months and has set up a working group within the Budgetary Control Committee to investigate this scandal.
During a debate on this issue, Conservative MEP and Budgetary Control Committee Member Chris Heaton-Harris said:
"It is bad enough that we have to migrate with this travelling circus 12 times a year to the City of Strasbourg. But to be swindled for the pleasure of doing it is really adding insult to injury. Then again, who can blame the City of Strasbourg for trying it on with the European Parliament?
"We have hardly shown more than a passing interest in the way that we or other EU institutions spend EU taxpayers’ money. We have a track record of ignoring whistleblowers and financial problems alike and we are now faced with this.
For the past few years, I have tabled amendments for various reasons to postpone or not sign off the Commission’s and Parliament’s accounts. I did this because my party at home simply did not believe that taxpayers’ money was being spent properly or accounted for properly. Alas, we have been proven to be correct."
Strasbourg building rent payment
Hidden top-ups from the €10 million rent paid by the European Parliament over a generation to Strasbourg for two office buildings - now authoritatively believed to be around 25 per cent of the total - were completely unjustified, said European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott.
Mr McMillan-Scott said:
"The admission of bad faith by Strasbourg in a statement shows that the European Parliament is following the right course in having an inquiry. The British government should look into this too."
"The argument that the hidden payments covered Strasbourg's risk in providing buildings for the European Parliament is illogical, as the risk ended in 1992 with the treaty commitment brokered by Britain forcing MEPs to meet there. Frankly any payment to Strasbourg is unjustified, as our meeting there is a massive waste of time and public money.
"Strasbourg should now show us its secret agreement with the Dutch developers: that is the least one public body should expect from another."
Mr McMillan-Scott invited the British government on 6 April to conduct its own inquiries of the French government.
The 1992 Edinburgh agreement committed MEPs to meeting 12 times a year in Strasbourg, against which they mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge, and was ratified in the 1999 Amsterdam Treaty. The Court of Auditors is conducting an inquiry into the buildings policy of the European Parliament, which is to buy its buildings when possible to avoid paying rent.
Single Farm Payments delayed again
It emerged this week that the British Government wrote to Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel on 12 April to ask for an extension until mid-October to the deadline for the Single Farm Payment to be paid to English farmers. The Commissioner told Members of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee that her services were "examining this request", which involves making outstanding 2005 payments by 15 October in addition to some payments for 2006. Under the current rules, the UK Government would be fined by Brussels if it fails to make all 2005 payments by 30 June this year.
The Commissioner made the revelation in answering questions from Conservative Agriculture Spokesman in the European Parliament, Neil Parish MEP.
Mr Parish said:
"The payments were first promised in January, then in February, then in the middle of March and then in June. Now for the first time we hear that Margaret Beckett is manoeuvring behind our backs to secure an extension until the autumn for the Single Farm Payment to actually be paid to English farmers. She made no mention of this in her Ministerial Statement of 19 April. Moreover, in the debate that followed in the House on 20 April, she said: 'I do not tell the European Commission anything different from the House. The Commission is familiar with events and has been kept informed about the steps that are being taken. Like the House, it has been told that we anticipate making the payments in June.'
"When will our farmers be paid? How on earth can our farmers be expected to remain economically viable if they are not paid until October? How can farmers be expected to fill in their claims next month without even knowing if their 2005 claims have been accepted? Margaret Beckett needs to find answers to these questions fast."
More bad news for English farmers emerged from the Committee meeting as the Commissioner signalled that she had no option but to follow the Council's request for legislative proposals to be drawn up to allow any individual Member State to transfer - on an entirely voluntary basis and with no obligation to match-fund - up to 20% of farmers' payments into Rural Development schemes. The Commissioner said that these proposals would be presented on 24 May.
Mr Parish said:
"Our farmers haven't even been paid for 2005 and now we have confirmation that up to 20% of their direct support is to be taken away from them. Tony Blair has a great deal to answer for. The voluntary modulation scheme was his idea and he fought for it tooth and nail in the December European Summit that agreed the EU Budget for 2007-13. The Commission cannot conceal their irritation that this plan was ever agreed but now they are forced to implement it. In my opinion this distorts the single market and puts English farmers at a competitive disadvantage. I seriously doubt the legality of it and at this stage I do not rule out a challenge in the European Court."
RESULTS OF THE VOTES:
Conference of Presidents - Proposal to replace the title of the Iran Delegation.
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Gargani - Community classification of adult cattle carcasses
Spokesman: Malcolm Harbour MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Gargani - Competition rules relating to agricultural products
Spokesman: Malcolm Harbour MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Böge - Mobilisation of the Solidarity Fund
Spokesman: Richard Ashworth MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Pittella - Draft amending budget 1/2006
Spokesman: Richard Ashworth MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Florenz - Allocation of quotas of hydrochloroflurocarbons with respect to new Member States
Spokesman: Caroline Jackson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Freitas - Convention on the strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
Spokesman: Struan Stevenson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Prets - UNESCO Convention
Spokesman: Christopher Beazley MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Kindermann - Veterinary expenditure
Spokesman: Struan Stevenson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Kindermann - Health requirements for aquaculture animals and products
Spokesman: Struan Stevenson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Weber - Switch-over from analogue to digital broadcasting
Spokesman: Christopher Beazley MEP
Adopted - Conservatives abstained
Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra - A stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America
