WRITTEN QUESTION

Submission: To the Council

18 February 2003

The European Court of Auditors, in a recent report that has not yet been published, accuses Europol, the European agency for combating organized crime, of financial irregularities and a lack of budgetary transparency. The report focuses its criticism on an amount of €279,000, which concerns the salary payments for 18 months to Europol’s former deputy director, Mr. David Valls-Russell, which were paid despite the lack of a legal basis, as the mentioned employee had resigned due to a financial scandal within his department. Additionally, the report mentions illegal funding for the installation and use of telephones and fax machines in the private residences of employees.

The Council is asked what measures it intends to take in order to both ensure full clarification of this serious issue and to create the conditions for Europol to serve the purpose for which it was established, operating based on the principles of transparency, accountability, and the obligation to be held responsible, which govern all EU organizations and services.