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Andreasen, Marta (1954 - )

Marta Andreasen (Photo: EU Parliament)

Andreasen, Marta (1954 - )

Famous whistleblower sacked by the European Commission for criticism of the EU accounts.

Member of the European Parliament from July 2009 to 2014. She was appointed by her group, "Europe for Freedom and Democracy", to become first vice president in the budget control committee but was rejected in a secret ballot. Later she changed her group membership to become a British Conservative.

A Spanish accountant, employed in 2002 to head the Commission’s accounts department of 130 staff, she criticised the accounting system for being open to fraud. She also criticised the Commission because it did not have a single system, but used Excel spreadsheets for producing figures – this allows figures to be altered without trace.

Additionally, she highlighted the fact that the fundamental double-entry bookkeeping system which is mandatory for all private companies, was still missing in the EU.

Mrs Andreasen first raised her criticisms internally, but made no progress with her superiors. She then wrote to Commissioner Schreyer and the Commission President, Prodi. She again received no respnses to her concerns.

Then she went to members of the European Parliament’s Budget Control Committee.  At this stage the press began to report her criticisms.

She was suspended from her job by the Commission and was later dismissed by it.  

The Court of Auditors can only fully validate a small part of the money spent by the EU and  it have criticised the system of accounts every year since 1994.

Links

See also Buitenen, Censure and Whistleblowers

BBC interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/2293519.stm

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