The European Commission sought yesterday to establish itself as the EU's chief auditing authority, demanding new powers to police the budget offices of member states.
This coming from the EU, whose own auditors have refused to sign off its accounts for almost a decade, saying they simply don't know what happens to 95% of its budget...
Under the proposed law, the Commission could carry out spot checks and "in-depth monitoring visits" anywhere in the EU, at any time, to ensure that Brussels was not being fed bogus data by member states. Eurostat inspectors would be able to demand access to debt figures and "underlying government accounts" to safeguard the "credibility" of monetary union. Findings would be made public if national data was found to be misleading.
How many more decades will it be before the EU's own accounting is made public?
This follows revelations last year that Greece had cooked its budget books by more than 2pc of GDP every year from 1997 onwards to meet the deficit limit for the euro. The Commission said Greece would never have been allowed to join the single currency had the truth been known.
We haven't seen the EU's books since '95. How do we know it hasn't been cooking its book for even longer?
Britain could also be the target of raids, even though it is not a member of the euro. The Government attacked the plan yesterday, insisting that there was no need for further bureaucracy. "Our statistical body has a worldwide reputation for excellence and doesn't need Eurostat officials marching in," said a British official. "Brussels should be focusing on countries that have problems." France and Germany are expected to give the proposal a frosty reception when it reaches EU ministers in coming months.
In January, EU finance ministers voted for sanctions against Athens, which now admits to a budget deficit of 5.5pc of GDP in 2004, far above the legal limit of 3pc. Italy also came clean this week, admitting that it had understated its deficit by as much as 0.5pc of GDP for the past three years. While Eurostat officials have railed privately in the past at "statistical alchemy" by offending states, they have been powerless to police the abuses or bring the culprits to book. Forced to rely on figures provided by national capitals, their only recourse has been to add footnotes hinting at possible error.
Ironically, Eurostat is itself embroiled in scandal. A leaked memo by investigators described a "vast enterprise of looting" by top officials, entailing the disappearance of €5m (£3.4m) of taxpayer funds in illegal black accounts. Contracts were awarded off-books to a shadowy network of suppliers linked to the officials and their families. A report today by Britain's National Audit Office will say that investigators were still investigating nine cases of abuse by Eurostat officials.
Don't hold your breath. |