WRITTEN QUESTION No. 559/99 by Karl HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN Possible misappropriation of EU funds (World Vision)
C 348/40 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 3. 12. 1999 (1999/C 348/049) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0559/99 by Karl Habsburg-Lothringen (PPE) to the Commission Subject: Possible misappropriation of EU funds (World Vision) (3 March 1999) There have been recurrent reports, particularly in the Austrian media, in connection with a scandal concerning donations to World Vision, of the misappropriation of EU funds and intervention by Members of the European Parliament. Has the Austrian World Vision organisation misappropriated EU funds, or were the funds used properly? Was there really intervention by Members of the European Parliament, and if so, who were they? Joint answer to Written Questions P-0223/99, E-0313/99 and P-0559/99 given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (20 April 1999) Upon learning of the legal proceedings against World Vision Austria (WVA) at the end of November 1998, the Commission contacted the Austrian judicial authorities offering to cooperate on the aspects involving Community funds. It also asked to be kept informed of the findings on these aspects, in line with the provisions of national law. With the permission of the Austrian judicial authorities, a financial control visit took place in January 1999 to the field headquarters of WVA’s implementing partner in Sarajevo (World Vision International BiH) where financial documentation for the Community funded aid projects is kept. The audit was limited to the control and testing of Commission (ECHO) financed operations. No irregularity was found in respect of the use of ECHO funds by this non-governmental organisation. As far as humanitarian projects are concerned, contacts between the Commission and WVA, before, during and after the implementation, were mainly managed between World Vision’s offices in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Commission’s (ECHO) office in Sarajevo, and were of a purely operational nature. No contacts of the sort mentioned were used to secure humanitarian funding of WVA backed projects in Bosnia. Its proposals were judged on their own merits and assessed in conformity with the relevant criteria. Control of the implementation of these projects was carried out by the Commission’s (ECHO) office in Sarajevo with technical assistance from the International management group (IMG) there. In respect of two of the three contracts with WVA, the Commission made final payments to WVA in September and October 1998 of euro 38 900 and euro 30 383 respectively. This was shortly before news of the legal proceedings reached the Commission. The Austrian authorities subsequently blocked the bank accounts of WVA. As an additional control, the Commission wrote to the legal adviser of WVA to ask about the status of these payments and whether he was aware of any irregularities that might affect Community funds. As a precaution a final payment under the third contract with WVA for approximately euro 100 000 has been suspended. This payment will remain suspended until the legal adviser replies with clarification. In addition to projects in the area of humanitarian aid, WVA has received contracts under the Obnova, Phare and Tacis programmes in Bosnia, Romania and Mongolia as follows: (Euros) Programme Action Contract Amount Obnova Integrated return programme for the return of refugees and displaced persons in the Maglaj and Zavidovici municipalities, Bosnia Phare: Partnership Village renewal in Romania Phare: Partnership Micro-enterprise in the community (Romania) Phare: Partnership Training and Consulting for micro-enterprise (Romania) Tacis: Partnership and Cooperation Community forestry development, Mongolia 3 539 370 57 480 118 480 153 000 118 160