MEPs used secret ballot to block Whistleblower from Budget post

[CookieMonster]

The Telegraph reports that Marta Andreasen, the EU's former Chief Accountant and whistleblower, sacked by Neil Kinnock and now a UKIP MEP, was yesterday blocked by the centre-right and socialist MEPs from becoming vice-chairman of the European Parliament's budgetary committee. The European People's Party - which the UK Conservatives have now left - and the Socialists broke parliamentary convention on the allocation of committee posts by demanding a vote by secret ballot to block Mrs Andreasen, who was fired in 2004 after she publicly claimed there was a £172 million discrepancy between two sets of Brussels accounts. According to PA, the secret ballot was unprecedented.



Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat, attacked the "shameful decision" to hold a secret ballot so the MEPs could not be "held accountable for their actions". He said: "The message it sends to the public is that anyone who speaks out against malpractice in Europe risks being excluded from office."



Ms Andreasen, who will still be a member of the Committee is quoted by PA saying: "What are they scared of? If they have nothing to hide then they would have supported my candidacy. This underhand and childish reaction just shows us how scared they are of the truth. I will not be going away. I intend to use my position to act as a particularly sharp thorn in the side of the EU accounts. It can be no surprise that the accounts are never signed off when they act like this".

EU whistle blower MEP blocked from new post - Telegraph

EU Politics News - theParliament.com

The friendly face of European democracy.

More on the Andreasen story here: http://www.politics.ie/europe/86337-...andreasen.html

[toxic avenger]

West Ham's ICF and the Chelsea Headhunters used to leave a 'calling card' on the crumpled heaps of opposing fans they had just beaten up in the 1970s and 1980s. I don't know why that just sprang to mind when reading about the 'socialists' and the centre-right combining in secret against a woman who was sacked for no good reason:





I wonder was she shown similar 'courtesy'...?

[He3]

A motley crew.

[FutureTaoiseach]

Underlines the lack of transparency and accountability in Brussels. The bureaucrats in Brussels want to hold onto the slush-funds at the expense of European taxpayers.

[Catalpa]

Kick em where it hurts Marta!

[CookieMonster]

And our government wants us to give over more of our sovereignty to this shower?
We would need our heads examined.

Which is why I find the "yes, I have no problem giving more power to Brussels sure they couldn't be worse than what we have here" brigade so amusing.

They are ten times worse and with more power they will be more damaging.

[Galmor]

Hopefully this brings home to the Irish people just how slimey, secretative and undercover the EU and it's operations truly are. Hopefully this gets out before Lisbon 2 as well.

[David Cochrane]

Moving this to Europe. Not everything has to be about Lisbon............

[CookieMonster]

Hopefully this brings home to the Irish people just how slimey, secretative and undercover the EU and it's operations truly are. Hopefully this gets out before Lisbon 2 as well.

Somebody tried that. It turns out us Irish identified with slimey and secretative and voted the slimiest and most secretative back in.

[Thac0man]

This sort of cloak and dagger nonsense is not the first time the dominent blocks in the Euro Parliment have tried to circumvent the system. I remember not so long ago there was a move afoot to deny the UKIPs block from the same parlimentry benefits that their opponents enjoyed. This latest attempt to conceal corruption and protect the corrupt is no suprise. In fact it is perhaps a lesser of an offence against democracy than the less well publicised previous attempt to hamstring oppositon in the parliment.