By Martin Banks - 5th April 2011
This is a massive conflict of interest
Marta Andreasen
The chair of parliament's budgets committee sits on the boards of trustees for the EU's planned house of European history, it has emerged.
According to eurosceptic MEP Marta Andreasen, the two roles occupied by French EPP member Alain Lamassoure, first elected as an MEP in 1989, represent a "massive" conflict of interest.
The dual role of Lamassoure, a former EU affairs minister in France, came to light during a meeting of the budgets committee in Strasbourg on Monday where the cost of the museum was debated.
Andreasen failed in her bid to prevent a vote approving the museum, partly on account of Lamassoure's involvement.
Fellow MEPs decided the vote should go ahead, despite Andreasen saying that the committee had been "misled as to the true and escalating costs of the project".
When she suggested that the costs were more than was being quoted she was accused by a parliamentary official of exaggerating and told her figures were 'excessive'.
This comes in the wake of report in the Telegraph that says the cost of the project has more than doubled to more than €140m.
Documents seen by the paper show that an initial pricing has increased by more than 90 per cent.
Lamassoure was not immediately available for comment but, speaking on Tuesday, Andreasen said, "It is bad enough that this ill conceived, pointless and ludicrously expensive project is even being allowed to see the light of day in the first place.
"It is bad enough that the committee has been misled on the exact costs of the project.
"It is bad enough that I was accused of exaggerating 'excessive' annual costs figures by an unnamed and unaccountable parliament official.
"But what is worst of all is that the chairman of the committee responsible for giving the go ahead to the house of European history sits on its board of trustees, whether or not the post is remunerated.
"This is a massive conflict of interest. In any other parliament such a clear conflict of interest would not be tolerated. The outcry from the public and media alike would be overwhelming."
Work is yet to start on the museum, which is the brainchild of parliament's former president Hans-Gert Pöttering.
A parliament source told this website, "The Daily Telegraph's figures on the projected cost of the House of European History were completely wrong: among other things they had misread the published documents and thereby managed to double the costs of refurbishing and fitting out the building.
"There has been no change in the projected cost - and indeed, the project team are working on a new, lower-cost plan as regards the potential future running costs of the museum.
"The chairs of the budgets committee and the culture committee are ex-officio, non-remunerated members of the Board of Trustees on the project precisely to ensure that the two committees are kept fully abreast of all developments and proposals and can therefore take decisions in complete awareness of all the facts.
"There is no conflict of interest involved."
