Latest news with #EUfunds
Telegraph
05-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Top Eurocrat embroiled in free five-star holidays scandal
A senior European Commission official took free flights and holidays for his family while negotiating with a foreign country, the EU's anti-fraud agency has said. OLAF said it had exposed more than €870 million (£750.7 million) in misused EU funds in 2024. As part of its investigation, it found the civil servant had not declared gifts. Henrik Hololei, a former top transport official, is now facing a criminal investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and, following OLAF's recommendations, an internal disciplinary probe by the commission. He is accused of accepting luxury trips and staying in five star hotels for him and his wife while negotiating an aviation agreement with Qatar. The Estonian has since accepted a new role advising on international partnerships with reduced pay in the commission. OLAF said Mr Hololei had leaked sensitive internal documents with a non-EU country or entity in a breach of their duty of professionalism, loyalty and confidentiality. 'We confirmed that the person failed to declare their flights, hospitality, gifts as well as the complimentary benefits that their spouse received whilst accompanying them on a number of business trips,' it said. 'We further identified that a non-EU country's economic operator provided the senior staff member and their family with complimentary flight tickets and hotel accommodation.' The watchdog added, 'However, we did not conclude that these gifts and preferential treatment led the person to act favourably on behalf of a non-EU country or non-EU entity.' 'Disciplinary procedure' The European Public Prosecutor's Office opened criminal investigation into Mr Hololei over corruption allegations after Libération, a French newspaper, revealed confidential details of OLAF's inquiry. A European Commission spokesman said the EU executive had opened a disciplinary procedure against Mr Hololei earlier this year. 'This internal disciplinary procedure is ongoing and is carried out within a reasonable period of time, account being taken of both the interests of the institution and of the person concerned. The Commission does not comment further on individual cases,' the spokesman told The Telegraph. The procedure focuses on four alleged breaches of the commission's rules, including the unauthorised acceptance of gifts, conflict of interest, unauthorised disclosure of documents and transparency. Mr Hololei did not respond to a request for comment. MEPs have expressed disappointment that the aviation agreement with Qatar was not suspended after the allegations. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has confirmed an ongoing investigation. 'The EU's response is not just feeble – it's farcical. Even the top brass aren't beyond suspicion, yet the worst a wrongdoer can expect is a perfunctory slap on the wrist,' Frank Furedi, executive director of the eurosceptic think tank MCC Brussels said: 'With consequences so toothless, the rot is not just setting in, it's thriving. Brussels must act, or risk becoming a byword for impunity.' OLAF's annual report said it had uncovered fraud worth €870 million last year, closing 246 investigations and opening 230 new probes. It issued 301 recommendations to EU and national authorities. This included four recommendations to the European Commission after investigations, while another three probes have not yet been concluded. There were four ongoing investigations into European Parliament staff and one concluded in the council of the European Union. Two were concluded into staff at the European Investment Bank, while three were ongoing at the EU's foreign affairs service. Another two were concluded at Frontex, the EU's border agency. 'Substantial breaches' OLAF, which investigates the misuse of EU funds, found €4.4 million (£3.8 million) worth of irregularities in one EU agency's training program. The agency reimbursed full costs for goods like laptops and furniture and did not take into account depreciation costs. 'Laptops with a three to five year lifespan were fully reimbursed after only a few months of use. The Agency also funded furniture that could have been used for five to ten years, but was only used for a few months,' the report said. It found €120,000 (£103,000) in payments to EU staff that broke the rules. OLAF uncovered 'substantial breaches of procurement, transparency and financial management rules' related to a €114 million (£98.3 million) EU funded project in Poland to deliver power generators to Ukrainian regions suffering from power shortages because of the war. 'Thanks to our efforts, an impressive €91 million (£78.5 million) has been targeted for recovery,' it said, adding 'contracts were awarded without authentic competitive bidding.' It also closed the last of six investigations into a scandal that involved about €10 million (£8.6 million) of bribes being paid by farmers to Slovak officials to illegitimately access EU agricultural funds. It uncovered 'systemic and widespread use of bribes to ensure the undue approval of rural development projects for EU co-financed subsidies from 2015 to 2020.' The agency recommended the recovery of €10 million in EU funds and loans. After a two-year investigation it uncovered an illegal Greek landfill project, which cost the EU €1.1 million (£950,000). The landfill was dormant for the first three years of its existence before ignoring environmental and safety rules from 2019. 'It morphed into a chaotic dumping ground for all sorts of refuse, with equipment either shattered or useless. Ultimately, we discovered that the landfill in question was not even eligible for EU funding,' OLAF said.
Reuters
04-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Romania must approve credible plan to lower deficit by end-June, president says
BUCHAREST, June 4 (Reuters) - Romania must present a credible plan to lower the EU's highest budget deficit by the end of June, President Nicusor Dan said on Wednesday, as many state spending cuts being discussed would need at least six months to be enacted. Centrist Dan, who won a divisive presidential vote last month at the expense of the hard right, must nominate a prime minister who would be able to reduce the deficit from last year's whopping 9.3% of output to avoid a ratings downgrade to below investment level. Dan and the four pro-European parties who are engaged in talks to form a ruling majority are reluctant to enforce unpopular tax hikes that may boost the hard right, which controls around a third of parliament, focusing instead on cuts to state spending. But the EU and NATO member state is racing against the clock to announce credible measures to lower the deficit below the EU's 3% of output limit over seven years, or risk having access to EU funds blocked and its already high borrowing costs spiral following a downgrade. "The problem is that we need at least six months to enact many of these technical issues (spending cuts)," Dan told a news conference. "But a package of laws that gives the financial sector the guarantee that we are serious about lowering the deficit must come by June 30." "We have been paying for a medium pizza but eating a large pizza for years, someone must pay for the difference." While his comments opened the way for the tax hikes analysts and ratings agencies say are needed, Dan remained resistant to imposing a higher value-added tax, seen as the quickest fix to boost budget revenue. A London source with knowledge of talks between Romania, the European Commission and ratings agencies, said the fiscal correction must be three percentage points, with 2.5 percentage points coming from higher tax revenue and 0.5 point from spending cuts. Dan, who said he saw a new government formed in two weeks, said he expected a first draft of measures agreed by parties to come by Monday. Romania's growth has steadily slowed since a post-pandemic surge in 2021, and Brussels forecasts a budget deficit of 8.6% this year and 8.4% next year, well above the 7% target for 2025 outlined in a seven-year plan approved by the Commission. Romania is rated on the lowest investment rung by S&P, Fitch and Moody's, with a "negative" outlook. An opinion survey released this week by pollster INSCOP Research showed the hard right opposition Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR) would win 38% of votes in an election, whereas the Social Democrats, currently the largest party in parliament, would get 17%.
Bloomberg
03-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Romania to Win Reprieve From EU in Struggle to Contain Deficit
Save The European Union is likely to offer the Romanian government a reprieve to introduce measures aimed at paring its ballooning budget deficit before moving to potential punitive action against the Black Sea nation. The European Commission will give Bucharest some time before moving to suspend EU funds as part of a report on Romania's progress under a so-called excessive-deficit procedure to be released Wednesday, according to people familiar with the deliberations who asked not to be identified as talks take place behind closed doors.
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Poland's Pro-EU Path Faces Election Test
Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Poland's presidential runoff is exposing underlying cracks. While the economy is thriving and the country has reestablished its place in the European mainstream, energy costs, surging taxes and EU funds that have yet to make a tangible impact remain important considerations for local businesses. The vote on Sunday — where government-supported candidate Rafal Trzaskowski faces nationalist Karol Nawrocki — is increasingly seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Donald Tusk's record since he returned to power in 2023 following eight years of populist rule. At stake is whether Tusk's coalition will have a partner in the next president or one who may seek to block its pro-EU agenda. US President Donald Trump's administration has made clear which outcome it would prefer.
