http://www.dw- world.de/ dw/article/ 0,2144,2425423, 00.html
Deutsche Welle
30.03.2007
"Internal Corruption Remains a Problem in the European Union"

Van Buitenen's investigations in 1999 led to the Commission's fall -- and his
own castigation

Dutch MEP and former assistant auditor of the Financial Control Directorate Paul
van Buitenen was the whistleblower who brought down the EU Commission in 1999.
He talked to DW-WORLD.DE about current corruption in the EU.

Paul van Buitenen, a Dutch MEP in the European Parliament and former assistant
auditor of the Financial Control Directorate, believes that the fight against
corruption in Europe has made little progress since new initiatives were set up
in the wake of the EU's biggest scandal which brought down the Commission in
1999.

DW-WORLD: Is there structural corruption in the EU?

Paul van Buitenen: The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has had success in
combating external corruption in the member states, but it is in the internal
cases where it has found problems. Working with the EU authorities makes it very
difficult to proceed in an investigation. Officially, OLAF is an independent
body, but it functions within the EU Commission; in the commission building, on
the commission's computer network and works with commission investigators.
OLAF's independence exists only on paper.

Which of the EU organizations are especially susceptible to corruption?

OLAF has investigated the European Commission for Regional Policy and has
confirmed through investigation that corruption has taken place there over a
number of years. The commission works with local and municipal bodies in the
member states and encourages them engage with Brussels. However, no important
decisions are made on the recommendation of the committee so once could
basically abolish the organization completely and save the EU some 70 million
euros ($93.4 million). Plus, some members have been shown to have unexplained
extra salaries and OLAF has discovered a number of discrepancies in reports.
Every time the committee is approached about corruption, it promises to improve
the situation. But then a new case arises.

How is the situation in the EU parliament?

There is corruption, but these are special cases. There are always conflicts of
interests everywhere. If someone sits on the supervisory board of a big
automobile company, that person should not write in the European Parliament
guidelines on subjects like fuel or manufacture. But I do not go around the
building with a camera to see what my colleagues do. I concentrate on the big
deception cases and irregularities with European implications.

Which new measures would be necessary to fight against corruption?

In some states, like Germany or Holland, controlling possibilities already
exist; there are independent judicial authorities and a strong parliament. At a
European level, however, there is not a democracy, but a bureaucracy. We must
decide if we are to continue with the European arrangement. If we do, then we
must also create these democratic structures at European level. Otherwise we
should revert to allowing the national authorities and parliaments to take over
the controlling functions again. But at the moment, as it stands, everything
goes wrong.

When you uncovered the EU Commission scandal in 1999 which brought down the
commission, you were punished. Has the situation changed?

I would say: Things have got even worse. There is now a regulation which
supposedly protects so-called whistleblowers which makes officials believe that
they can uncover scandals. But in reality, if one does this, they are destroyed.
So the regulation does not work. If a committee official, like in the 1999 case,
is suspected of corruption, he is moved to another department at the beginning
of the inquiries so he can no longer carry out those activities -- but he
continues to be employed and still gets his salary. But if people like me sound
the alarm, we are suspended and sometimes have our salary halved. Something is
not right here.

Dennis Stute interviewed Paul van Buitenen, representative of the Europe
Transparent anti-corruption party in the European Parliament.