91999E0051

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0051/99

by Ursula Stenzel (PPE) to the Commission

(15 January 1999)

Subject: Leonardo - Cresson

The Leonardo programme is one of the EU's most successful programmes and enables thousands of young people to gain personal experience of Europe.

This programme is implicated in the recent events, with very unfortunate consequences for the EU's credibility.

The committee responsible has decided to hand over the documents to the public prosecutor's office, with a request for an investigation into possible fraud and mismanagement.

It has been alleged in this committee that the Commissioner responsible, Mrs Cresson, has prevented a revised version of the financial audit being submitted to it. Is this allegation correct, and can the Commission provide information on what this financial report contains?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(9 April 1999)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's positive assessment of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and its importance for young people in Europe.

The office providing the Commission with technical assistance in implementing the programme has, indeed, been audited by the Commission's financial control service. As with any audit, the report drawn up by this service was subject to a contradictory consultation procedure enabling the directorate-general responsible for managing the programme to comment on, and answer questions raised by, the report.

The draft report prepared by the financial control service underwent this consultation procedure. Finalising the service's conclusions and the replies of the Directorate-General for Education, Training and Youth required a number of meetings and exchanges to ensure accuracy and transparency. At no time did the Commission try to prevent the audit report being sent to the Parliament. On 9 December 1998, DG XX's report was sent to the Parliament accompanied by the preliminary replies of the directorate-general concerned.

On 5 January 1999, the Commission gave the Chairman of the Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs the final report of the financial control service and the final replies from the Directorate-General. In addition, the Commission met with the Committee for a second time at a special meeting held on 12 January 1999.