From EC Chief Accountant to UKIP MEP: Marta Andreasen

[He3]

The first few lines in this woman's Wikipedia entry fairly raise an eyebrow.

Marta Andreasen (born 26 November 1954) is an Argentine-born Spanish accountant, employed in January 2002 by the European Commission as Chief Accountant, and notable for raising concerns about fraud within EU, neglected by the Commission. She was elected as an Member of the European Parliament for UKIP in 2009.


She was hired apparently at the behest of German Green Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, in the aftermath of the sleaze-related meltdown of the Santer Commission. Reform was in the air, and Schreyer reckoned that this woman, with a background in PwC and the OECD, was the one to head the accounting function of the EC.

It did not go to plan.

In her book Brussels laid bare she tells a hair raising story of what she found and what befell her when she tried to put some order on the place, - simple things like ensuring double-entry systems were in place for instance.

It was not long before she found out that some toes were not to be stepped on.

A feature of the short book is the number of mind-boggling stories about some at the heart of the organisation that you would be inclined to dismiss as made up. Like what she says about the man who became Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security. What she says just cannot be correct you think. She says he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to eight months suspended.

How could such a man be made Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security in the European Community? Unbelievable. Until you check it and find it confirmed in places like this:

Graham Watson on the Barrot affair

The Barrot affair: Statement by ALDE group leader Graham Watson MEP

12.00.00am GMT Mon 22nd Nov 2004

"The revelation that one of the new team of European Commissioners has a criminal record could not have come at a worse time for Europeans. After a difficult gestation for the new EU Commission, we had all hoped to be able to get back to normal business.

"Jacques Barrot was convicted in February 2000 of corruption and given an eight month suspended prison sentence. He is not guilty of personal enrichment. Under an amnesty law adopted five years earlier by a French parliament keen to protect its political leaders, the conviction was immediately amnestied, his criminal record cleansed and the press forbidden from reporting his conviction. Last week the French press summoned up the courage to make it public, under the cover of a debate in the European Parliament during which the cat was let out of the bag.

"Strictly speaking, Mr Barrot has no criminal record and would not be disqualified from holding public office in France. He did not appeal against his conviction because he was absolved. In many other EU countries his conviction would disqualify him from office and such an amnesty would be unthinkable...."

As of now, he is still Commissioner for Justice, and Andreasen is still pursuing a lonely legal action against her former employers. She fell in with UKIP along the way. Her book, published in May this year, ends with this:

With this experience in mind I have decided to stand as a UK Independence Party candidate for the European Parliament in the June 2009 elections. If elected I will join the Budgetary Control Committee and challenge each and every one of the numbers in the EU accounts. If elected I will go to Brussels and find out how the British people's money is being spent and I will come back and tell them the truth.

I know where the bodies are buried.

This week Marta Andreasen returned to Brussels as a newly elected MEP for England South East. She will be the one with the shovel.

More to follow.

AccountancyAge feature

[Catalpa]

Yeah I read about here in a Catholic paper my Aunt gave me a copy of...

The EU is corrupt anyway so its not a surprise really that this goes on

- more of a surprise that someone had the courage to speak out...

[toxic avenger]

Her treatment was appalling, the derision of that windbag Kinnock in particular does inspire random thoughts of leek-involved violence. Had a thread on her book back in May...http://www.politics.ie/europe/68241-...imisation.html

[He3]

.... from my point of view I was simply doing my job. I was hired to reform a deficient accounting and financial management system and that is what I was trying to do. Under the EU treaties I was legally responsible for all the cash and assets of the EU. To fulfil that responsibility, I looked for support from the EU's political masters, but I did not get it.

When I joined the European Union I had almost 25 years professional experience in financial management, mostly in the private sector, and a proven record of having done the right thing even in extremely difficult business situations. Should I give my reputation up for a well-paid, theoretically powerful and life long job, with a generous pension at the end of it? It was a difficult decision.

[He3]

Her treatment was appalling, the derision of that windbag Kinnock in particular does inspire random thoughts of leek-involved violence. Had a thread on her book back in May...http://www.politics.ie/europe/68241-...imisation.html

Thanks TA, missed that at the time.

Winning a seat in the European Parliament is quite a comeback. I wonder if she makes it onto the Budget Committee to do what she wants to do.

[FutureTaoiseach]

Underlines the lack of transparency and accountability in the EU, not least when someone as 'distinguished' as Jacques Barrot can attain high office in it.

[He3]

He is distinguished.

From being a convicted person with an eight month suspended sentence to being EU Commissioner for Justice is worthy of FF.

And still some people say they are voting Yes to Lisbon to give power over us to a better class of politicians?

[zeleneye]

Winning a seat in the European Parliament is quite a comeback. I wonder if she makes it onto the Budget Committee to do what she wants to do.

Its the Budgetary Control Committee (different to the Budget Committee) and she made it as far as I know. The vote was last week.

Be good to have someone like her there, as it is an important committee. Unfortunately, she will be less capable of having an impact coming from UKIP.

[He3]

Thanks zeleneye. One has to wonder why the mainstream 'EU uncritical' parties did not take her on. Maybe there is a clue here:

Her refusal to sign off the 2001 European commission accounts led to her being suspended from the post and later losing her job. She has since said, "Investors make up their own minds where they want their money.

"But taxpayers are not even asked this question.The commission should set the example for private companies, but it is the opposite. It issues directives, but doesn't follow them."

EU Politics News - theParliament.com

[He3]

Bumping this for imokyrok.