EU: The European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, is prepared to take tough action, including the sacking of one of his commissioners, if fraud allegations are proved true, according to his official spokesman. Denis Staunton reports from Brussels.
Mr Reijo Kempinnen said it was too soon to place blame for the alleged looting of funds from Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency.
"But let us also be quite clear the President has never, and he will never, shirk his political responsibilities. If necessary he will take decisive action, rapid action, but only on the basis of evidence," he said.
The EU's anti-fraud office, Olaf, and a Commission task force led by its Irish secretary general, Mr David O'Sullivan, are investigating the scandal at Eurostat. The Commission has already removed Eurostat's veteran director general and two senior aides, and dozens of other officials at the agency have been shifted to other positions following evidence of misappropriation of funds dating back to 1989.
There has been mounting speculation in Brussels that the Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Mr Pedro Solbes, could be forced to resign when Mr Prodi reports to the European Parliament on the scandal on September 25th.
Mr Prodi required all 20 Commissioners to sign letters of resignation on taking office, and Mr Kempinnen made it clear yesterday that the President was willing to deploy the letters.
"I have no shadow of a doubt that, if it came to that, anybody would honour their promise," he said.
Mr Kempinnen's remarks were seen in Brussels as increasing pressure on Mr Solbes, who has overall responsibility for Eurostat. Mr Solbes told the European Parliament earlier this year that he had known nothing about the wrongdoing and angered some MEPs by arguing that he should not be held responsible for something he was unaware of.
A number of MEPs who face an election next year have already called for Mr Solbes' resignation, and his colleagues in the Commission have shown him little solidarity. Some observers suggest that two other Commissioners, Britain's Mr Neil Kinnock, who is in charge of reforming the Commission, and Germany's Ms Michaela Schreyer, who is responsible for the EU budget, bear as much responsibility for the Eurostat scandal as Mr Solbes.
Mr Solbes is politically exposed, however, because he is neither a member of Spain's governing conservatives nor of the opposition Socialists. Some observers in Brussels suspect that Mr Prodi is deliberately increasing the pressure on Mr Solbes to deflect attention from his own role as the Commission President who promised to stamp out corruption.
Mr Solbes' resignation might prove welcome to European politicians who wish to ease the terms of the euro zone's Stability and Growth Pact. The Spanish economist has been a fierce defender of the Pact, which limits the amount national governments may borrow for current spending.