MEP Morten Messerschmidt - Parliamentary Question on False Accounting
Dear European Parliament, Dear Mr Morten Messerschmidt,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
In 1st March 2012 you submitted a Parliamentary Question to Mrs Viviana Reding on the False Accounting at Danish Institute of Human Rights. Your question is stored in the website of European Parliament
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD... and reads :
“To what extent does the Commission monitor the money at the disposal of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights? This EU agency is headed, as the Commission will be aware, by its Danish director Morten Kjærum. Rigsrevisionen (the National Audit Office of Denmark) has now revealed that there was a widespread incidence of false accounting while Mr Kjærum was head of the Danish Institute for Human Rights between 2002 and 2008, and that public funds were used, with Mr Kjærum’s knowledge, contrary to applicable law and their intended use. Bearing in mind that the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has a much larger budget than the Danish body, the circumstances uncovered in relation to Mr Kjærum’s period in charge of the Danish Institute for Human Rights should give rise to a comprehensive audit of the use of resources at the EU agency, inter alia to see whether the unlawful use of public funds has continued at EU level”
In her answer 20 April 2012 Mrs V. Reding declined her competence on the subject http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getA...
She stated that FRA director is responsible for all matters within his agency and that “OLAF may also intervene whenever there are sufficiently serious suspicions of fraud, corruption or irregularities detrimental to EU financial interests.”
1. I would appreciate if you could grant me access to any relevant document or information showing how that false accounting was settled (if OLAF looked into the matter as suggested by Mrs Reding, if any other controlling body looked into those false accounts).
2. I also request access to the written statement submitted to you by Mr Morten Kjærum, in his quality as current Director of FRA and ex-director of DIHR, following your question of 1st March 2012.
3. Could you confirm if this EP Letter http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/452/r... dated 27 April 2012 was sent to OLAF following issues related to your Question of 1st March 2012. Mr Theurer confirmed me through www.asktheeu.org that it was FRA the EU agency in question mentioned in that letter.
As you might know DIHR was and is a contractor of FRA and of European Commission. This is why I request access to any relevant documents or information you might have: to understand if before the awarding of these contracts, the false accounting matters was solved by DIHR and thus there were legal conditions created to apply for and win grants and contracts at FRA and EC. The EC and FRA contracts are available here http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/548/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/731/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/742/r...
Other reason of asking access to these documents and information is because the Danish Ministry had cut off funding to DIHR because of “the deliberate transfer of old losses to non-existing projects that were created for this purpose” http://cphpost.dk/news/national/foreign-... .
In order to be awarded grants or contracts DIHR have to pass some legal requirements envisaged in rules. DIHR was awarded contracts and grants around the date Danish Ministry cut off DIHR funding. DIHR declared that everything is in order in its activity http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/703/r... http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/decla... )
It would be very appreciated any access you could grant to any document or useful information and it will contribute to the clarification of false accounting matters you raised in your Parliamentary Question of 1st March 2012 and the entitlement of legal entities with such problems in their accounts to access EU funds and to win grants procedures organized by European institutions. Thank you very much.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Stabenow
Dear Sir,
We acknowledge receipt of your request. You will receive a reply within 15 working days
Transparency - Public Access to documents Unit
Directorate C - DG Presidency
European Parliament
Our reference: A(2013)11040/MT/en
Dear Mr Stabenow,
We are hereby responding to your request received by Parliament on 16 September 2013 for access to documents related to:
1. The accounting of the Danish Institute of Human Rights between 2002 and 2008;
2. Written correspondence from Mr Morten Kjaerum to the European Parliament in his quality as Director of FRA since 1 March 2012;
Please find attached any relevant documents found in Parliament's register of documents with regard to the above points, as follows:
§ Question for written answer E-007475/2013 by MEPs Ingeborg Gräßle (PPE) and Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE) on 9/7/2013 to the Commission, regarding "Conflict of interest - Danish Institute of Human Rights". Please note that any response from the European Commission to this question will be made publicly available in Parliament's register of documents, here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWe...
§ Letter from Mr Morten Kjaerum (FRA) to the European Parliament regarding Final 2011 Accounts, received on 26/06/2012
§ Letter from Mr Morten Kjaerum (FRA) to the European Parliament regarding Annual report 2011, received on 16/06/2012
§ Letter from Mr Morten Kjaerum (FRA) to EP Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee Michael Theurer, regarding 2011 Annual Activity report, received on 29/06/2012
For the annual report referred to above, please see the following link:
http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2012...
With regards to point 3 of your request, we are not aware of any link between the letter you refer to (http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/452/r...) and the question put to the Commission by MEP Morten Messerschmidt on 1 March 2012.
If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Transparency - Public Access to documents
Library and Document Management Directorate
DG Presidency
European Parliament
David Nicholson hat eine Nachricht hinterlassen ()
Dear Ms Ingeborg Gräßle and Ms Monica Luisa Macovei
In relation to your several questions published at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...
and inserted below for a facile reading
“Question for written answer E-007475/2013 to the Commission
Rule 117
Ingeborg Gräßle (PPE) and Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE)
Subject: Conflict of interest - Danish Institute of Human Rights
1. The Danish Institute of Human Rights (DIHR) saw its funding cut by the Danish authorities after ‘irregularities’ had been found. The director in charge at the time the irregularities occurred is now working for an EU agency. The Danish authorities cancelled their support to the DIHR; the EU agency is still funding it.
(a) Has the Commission evaluated the financial transactions from this agency to the DIHR?
(b) Have irregularities been found?
(c) What action has been taken?
(d) Have funds been recovered? If so, what amount?
2. Management board members are leading staff of organisations that receive(d) grants or other financial support from the agency in question.
(a) How are these conflicts of interest managed?
(b) Have those members been involved in the process of granting funding to their organisations?
3. In the past there have been European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) cases involving agency staff in response to allegations that documents had been backdated, that staff had been mobbed and that the agency had not complied with existing rules on recruitment procedures.
(a) What was the result of these investigations?
(b) Could the Commission provide Parliament with the recommendations that OLAF issued?
(c) If there were no recommendations, could the Commission provide Parliament with a justification?
(d) What measures have been taken by the agency to prevent harassment, mobbing, etc.?
(e) Has any action been taken in response to incidents of harassment of staff members by other employees?
4. Are there any court cases pending against this agency? How many? What is the substance of these cases?
5. Who is bearing the costs of legal representation for staff of the agency before the courts? In which cases?
6. Could the Commission or the agency give details on the poem competition in 2010? How many people participated? How much money was spent?”
Please find some of the responses in these Documents by IAS of European Commission and Court of Auditors submitted to me:
1) TWO LETETRS by IAS saying that no audit was performed:
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/ias_a...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/573/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/573/r...
2) LETTERS from Court of Auditors saying that an audit was performed but the result cannot be disclosed to the public
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/audit...
This institute IMR-DIHR appears to be very protected by both, FRA and European Commission. Competitors of DIHR are excluded from competition in unclear circumstances
FRA
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/evalu...
EUROPEAN COMMISION
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/conta...
FRA employed some judges and apparently all irregularities raised by FRA employees are dismissed as being not founded. These judges apparently provide advise also in the frame of Audits performed at FRA. Then FRA send not true (false) statements to the Courts and something like this happens (incorrect statements by creates EU jurisprudence or determines dismissal of cases)
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/which...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/tende...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/publi...
Your questions are very direct and courageous. Unfortunately I cannot see the replies by FRA and EC. Would it be possible to provide the links. Many Thanks.