In Raportul de activitate pe 2007 publicat ieri de OLAF (Oficiul european anti-frauda), Romania este campioana absoluta, fiind investigata in 95 cazuri de frauda. Ca termen de comparatie, Malta are 0 cazuri, Finlanda si Letonia sunt nominalizate cu cate 2 cazuri, Cipru, Slovenia, Danemarca si Estonia cu cate 3 cazuri, Irlanda cu 4 si tot asa… Exista o imagine sugestiva in raport (Graficul 20), unde cateva tari o iau razna de tot (cele nominalizate si in articolul de mai jos – Romania (95), Italia (80), Germania (75), Belgia (72)), urmate de un pluton de mijloc (Bulgaria, Spania, Grecia, Polonia, UK, Franta) si apoi grosul tarilor "codase" in materie de frauda.
M-a surprins, in articolul de mai jos, "pedeapsa" pe care a primit-o angajatul unui birou extern al Comisiei Europene care a furat bani, a masluit dosare si a incercat sa-si corupa colegii. Frauda a fost la nivel de zeci de mii de euro, iar "pedeapsa" primita a fost… blocarea accesului la fonduri UE pe viitor. Nu a fost destituit, doar i s-a blocat accesul... Un bun exemplu de urmat pentru bravii oficiali romani implicati in activitati de gen. In fiecare an, OLAF publica un raport independent asupra activitatilor sale din anul precedent. Raportul OLAF pe 2007 poate fi citit aici: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/reports/olaf/2007/en.pdf. Simultan, Comisia Europeana a publicat la randul ei propriul raport: "Report on the Protection of the financial interests of the Communities - fight against fraud". Acesta poate fi citit aici: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/reports/commission/2007/en.pdf ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Aboneaza-te la *ngo_list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>*: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] *Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?* http://euobserver.com/9/26527/?rk=1 *EU anti-fraud office targets Brussels and Romania* PHILIPPA RUNNER Today @ 09:27 CET EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission was the target of most of the internal investigations last year by the EU anti-fraud office (OLAF), while Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and Romania accounted for the bulk of new cases opened in member states. Eighty-four cases of suspected fraud in the commission remained under evaluation or were ongoing at the end of 2007, compared to just seven for the EU council and five for the European Parliament, according to OLAF's annual report out on Tuesday (22 July). One example concerned an "agent" employed at an unnamed commission office abroad who stole money, fiddled books and tried to corrupt colleagues to the tune of "tens of thousands of euros," the OLAF survey said. In another case, a retired EU official pretended to live in a different country in order to claim a bigger pension, with an OLAF investigator flying around Europe to find out where the former worker actually spent his time. The findings were forwarded to national police, with the "agent" blocked from managing EU funds in future - but not sacked - and the retiree docked pension income. "As the European Commission manages a far greater part of the budget than the other institutions and accounts for most EU officials and other staff, it is more frequently the subject of investigations," the annual report explained. Meanwhile, Romania topped the list of new cases opened in EU members, with 95 new investigations, while Italy (80), Germany (75), Belgium (72), Bulgaria (52), Spain (42), Greece (41) and Poland (38) also featured near the top of the list. In proportion to their populations, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece received the most new attention from OLAF last year. The bulk of investigations involve agricultural subsidies, cigarette smuggling and EU "external aid" - projects related to development and humanitarian goals - with OLAF's focus swinging toward external aid last year. The anti-fraud office itself has in the past been criticised for inefficiency by the European Court of Auditors and accused by journalists and MEPs of hushing up internal EU fraud investigations. But looking at the higher amount of tip-offs for potential cases flowing into OLAF last year, its German director, Franz-Hermann Bruner, said: "the vast majority of the [European] Commission's staff considers OLAF a pillar of trust." The anti-fraud unit employed a total of 467 staff in 2007 on a budget of €72.6 million, up from 388 people on €67.5 million the year before. It recovered €204 million mis-spent EU funds, compared to just €114 million in 2006, with the average length of investigations creeping up from 27 months to 28 months per case. Copyright (c) 1999-2008 EUobserver.com
