Mr Morten Kjaerum private correspondence with an European Commission Official
Dear Permanent Representation of Denmark to the EU,
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:
Under link below can be found the private/ “Personal” correspondence of Mr Morten Kjaerum with European Commission (Mr Paul Nemitz) related to financial irregularities at Danish Institute for Human Rights: http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r...
Mr Paul Nemitz, is the the European Commission representative in FRA Management Board http://fra.europa.eu/en/about-fra/struct...
As you can observe, there are three emails:
- first one, from Mr Kajerum to Mr Nemitz, dated 15 January 2012, 21:54 p.m,
- second one, reply by Mr Nemiz sent from his I-phone, dated same day, 15 January 2012, 23:24 p.m,
- third one, a follow up from Mr Kajerum to Mr Nemitz, dated 19 January 2012, 14:46 p.m,
The text of 19 January 2012 email reads:
“Dear Paul,
The Danish electronic media and net journals covered the story Monday 16 and the printed media on Tuesday 17 largely repeating the net versions from the day before. Over all the message has come across that it is an issue of financial irregularities – no fraud and no losses for anybody – and that the amount is minimal. Of course some part of the media had dramatic headlines which were not based on the actual text. For now I consider the issue for having no or only minimal media interest. Next week 24th the report from the state auditors will be published. I have not seen it but according to the information conveyed to me it is broadly speaking less dramatic than what the minister had in his press briefings. Thus, if that is correct the media will most likely not reopen the issue.
I will keep you informed.
Best regards,
Morten”
As noticeable in the last lines of email, Mr Kjaerum stated implicitly that Danish Minister exaggerated the issues related to financial irregularities found at Danish Institute for Human Rights.
You might recall that on 16/01/2012, Mr Christian Friis Bach, the Development Minister, talked about false accounting and fictive projects at DIHR (i.e. “the deliberate transfer of old losses to non-existing projects that were created for this purpose”) and called the findings "worrying” in his public statement of 16 January 2012, available in Danish newspaper “The Copenhagen Post ” and here: http://cphpost.dk/news/national/foreign-... .
I would appreciate if you could facilitate me to access the following documents and information:
1. All correspondence or transcription of phone logs of Mr Kjaerum with Danish Audit body related to financial irregularities at DIHR (in Mr Kjaerurm email it is mentioned: “Next week 24th the report from the state auditors will be published. I have not seen it but according to the information conveyed to me it is broadly speaking less dramatic than what the minister had in his press briefings.”). Therefore it is quite clear that there was communication between Danish Audit body and Morten Kjaerum and some information were conveyed to Mr Kjaerum .
2. Any documents, notes, phone logs of European Commission (Mr Paul Nemitz or other EC officials) with Danish Audit body and / or Mr Christian Friis Bach, the Development Minister.
3. Any information and relevant links showing if Danish press continued to cover the subject on financial irregularities at DIHR. I ask for this information because Mr Kjaerum wrote in his email dated 19 January 2012 (above) that if the information conveyed to him by Danish Audit body is correct “the media will most likely not reopen the issue”.
4. All documents showing official position of Mr Christian Friis Bach, the Danish Development Minister in relation to DIHR`s quality of recipient of millions of euro in grants and contracts from European Commission and Fundamental Rights Agency, where Mr Kjaerum is currently Director.
Similarly to Danish Financial Regulations applicable to public sector, the EU legislation requires as well that financial irregularities in bidder`s accounts have to be reported by bidders, via special declarations as this one http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r... submitted by Mr Jonas Christofersen for the last grant from EC awarded in 2013 http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/548/r...
For some reasons, this disclosure did not happen in the case of DIHR. As you can see above, in Mr Kjaerum email, for him financial irregularities represents something not important and minimal (i.e. “it is an issue of financial irregularities – no fraud and no losses for anybody – and that the amount is minimal.”), which anyway is in contradiction of EC antifraud policy available here http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r... , which sanctions such financial irregularities by posting losses in inexistent projects and win grants based on inaccurate financial statements (which do not contains losses in correct accounts but in fictive projects).
I would like also to enquire if amount of 3.200.000 DKK in losses posted in inexistent projects represent a minimal amount for Danish Authorities, as Mr Kjaerum says in his private email to European Commission`s official / Mr Paul Nemitz.
As you know, the EU legislations requires that if one bidder or candidate for grants fails to report financial irregularities, the contracting authority (EC of FRA) must check the irregularities, and if irregularities are confirmed shall terminate the contracts and grants and recover the amounts back to the EU budget. Additionally that bidder/candidate may be fined and excluded from all grants and/or procurement procedures organized by EU institutions, bodies, agencies.
I particularly would like to access the final audit reports by Danish Ministry of Development and Danish audit body.
Under asktheeu website you can find the list of grants awarded by European Commission to DIHR. You can see all those list also under DIHR applications submitted to EC available at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r... and in many other places of this website.
Please find an overview below:
1. 2008 European Commission VP/2008/005/183 -
265.474 Euro
2. 2008 European Commission JLS/2008/FRAC/AG1241
389.894 Euro
3. 2008 European Commission JLS/2008/FRAC/AG/1226
498.915 Euro
4. 2008 EC Directorate-General, Justice 2008
10.400 Euro
5. 2009 EC Employment, Social Affairs VP/2009/0390
217.263 Euro
6. 2009 EC Justice JUST/2009/FRA
1.244.775 Euro
7. 2010 EC JLS/2009-2010/D4/018
606.896 Euro
8. 2010 European Commission, DG JUST 2010
606.896 Euro
9. 2010 European Commission, DG EMPL 2010
299.999 Euro
10. 2011 European Commission, DG JUST 2011
277.267 Euro
11. 2012 European Commission, DG JUST 2012-2013
200.030 Euro
12. Last grant awarded to DIHR in 2013 is available at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/548/r...
Contracts concluded with DIHR by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), where currently Mr Kjaerum serves as Director, are available here:
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/742/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/742/r...
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/funda...
Mr Kjaerum declaration of conflict of interests is available here http://fra.europa.eu/en/about-fra/struct...
and the declaration of a member of in DIHR Governing board, also member in FRA management board is available here http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...
Two Parliamentary Questions to European Commission and related Answers by Madame vice-president Reding are available here
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...
I do not request access to private data (names) therefore any document to be disclosed following my request could be redacted accordingly.
Many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
Kurt Weiss
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Dear Permanent Representation of Denmark to the EU,
As my email was rejected due to technical problems, I re-submit hereby the link containing the original request
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/mr_mo...
Yours faithfully,
Kurt Weiss
Kurt Weiss left an annotation ()
Surprise to be simulated to the press, "announced" by Mr Kjaerum in this email of 15/01/2012
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r...
was "manifested" in this press article of 16/01/2013 http://jyllands-posten.dk/politik/ECE462...
approximate translation:
"The former head of controversial institute for human rights is 'very sorry ' loss of three million . AUD
Brand new . Surprisingly . And very unfortunate.
So says the former head of the controversial Danish Institute for Human Rights after the detection of gross errors for well over three million . AUD
"It comes very surprising to me . I'm very surprised , "said Morten Kjaerum jp.dk."
"So 99.75 percent of our billion revenue is generated correctly . So we have an amount of three million . £ It is hugely unfortunate and I am very sorry. But it is 0.25 percent . It is important for me to say , "said Morten Kjaerum jp.dk."
Mariano Delgado left an annotation ()
A sort of "playhouse" about financial irregularities directed by Morten Kjaerum. Role of two European Commission officials - Martin Selmayr and Paul Nemitz
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/a_sor...
Dialogue no 1 of Morten Kjaerum, submitted for advice or
consultancy/ approval to Paul Nemitz. The proposed acting is to
show surprise in case press will contact Morten Kjaerum.
Morten Kjaerum wrote:
“If I am contacted I will shortly stress my surprise and that it is
all new to me”.
This requires some good acting talent indeed, because we know from
this private email
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r...
that Morten Kjaerum was well aware about the financial
irregularities, which he considers as being a “small amount” of
400,000 Euro. See page 1, last paragraph of Mr Kjaerum Email to
European Commission.
Dialogue no 2 of Morten Kjaerum, proposing applying some kind of
sands into the eyes of press:
Morten Kjaerum wrote:
“At the same time I will underline that it is a single incident in
a big organization”.
In reality here it is about “a single incident” per year, in 12
years. So we have 12 incidents arrogantly called by Mr Kjaerum
“accountants `creative` approach to financial administration”. See
the first paragraph in page 2 of Morten Kjaerum email.
I see Morten Kjaerum attitude as striking contempt of the Danish
taxpayers because Morten Kjaerum as Director of Danish Institute
for Human Rights (DIHR) signed year by year, for 12 years or more,
different accounting documents as balance sheets, loss and profit,
turnover, and so on.
How did he sign those documents and how he was granted budgetary
discharge?.
What is extremely striking from the EU taxpayer’s perspective, is
that Morten Kjaerum brought DIHR to his current work place – EU
Agency for Fundamental Rights and also to European Commission. Any
of those “accountants `creative` approaches to financial
administration” was declared by DIHR, as can be observed in several
declarations by DIHR disclosed to ASKtheEU website and Morten
Kjaerum, who was well aware as is clear from his private email to
Paul Nemitz and your HEAD of cabinet Martin Selmayr, did not say a
word. Lots of contracts were awarded by FRA
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/funda...
and European Commission
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/477/r...
(see page 3) in this mystification and deceitful conditions.
At the end of Morten Kjaerum` email is written:
“Martin Selmayr has been informed as well”.