Dismissal of EU Whistleblower Reviewed

Under pressure from the European Parliament's budget control committee the new European Commission will on Tuesday review a decision to dismiss former chief accountant Marta Andreasen. On Oct. 13, Romano Prodi's previous commission decided to dismiss Andreasen. Members of the European Parliament budget control committee have, however, sent a letter to the new commissioner in charge of administrative affairs, audit and anti-fraud, Sim Kallas, and urged him to review the decision. A meeting between Kallas and Andreasen was scheduled for last Wednesday but was cancelled at the last minute after intervention of the commission’s legal service. The service said a meeting would not be appropriate since the two are involved in legal actions. Andreasen was appointed to the posts of accounting officer and budget execution director at the European Commission in January 2002. In February 2002, she alerted Budget Director-General Jean-Paul Mingasson to certain deficiencies and weaknesses in the computer accounting system of the commission. On May 22, 2002, she was removed from as accounting officer and later transferred to personnel and administration. Andreasen has challenged both decisions in the EU court. (EUobserver.com)