By Martin Banks - 3rd February 2009
If, as appears the case, Grazin has withdrawn his support, the bureau decision will have to be changed
Andrew Duff
The confirmation of the Eurosceptic group Libertas as a pan-European political party, entitling it to EU funding, has been cast into doubt, this website can reveal.
It follows Monday night’s decision by parliament’s bureau, the assembly’s key decision-making body, to endorse its status as a fully-fledged European party and allocate it €200,000 in EU funding.
However, it has now emerged that one of the eight people who Libertas claimed had signed its application to parliament appears to have withdrawn his ‘signature.’
UK ALDE deputy Andrew Duff today said he had received an email from Estonian MP Igor Grazin, a member of the liberal Reform Party in Estonia, which seems to distance himself from Libertas, the anti-Lisbon treaty group set up by Irish businessman Declan Ganley.
The email said to have been sent by Grazin reads, “I have never signed any papers asking for recognition of Libertas as a political party in the EU and all corresponding claims are utterly untrue.”
Duff says he received the correspondence after the decision by the bureau, comprising parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering, its 14 vice presidents and six quaestors.
Grazin was not immediately available for comment but, if correct, the development is significant and would, says Duff, leave the bureau having to reconsider its decision.
According to EU legislation, a pan-European political party must be formally endorsed by elected representatives from at least seven member states.
Libertas said its application for recognition as a political party had been signed by “eight European democrats”. Apart from Grazin, they included two elected representatives from France and one each from the UK, Poland, Finland, Greece and Bulgaria.
“If, as appears the case, Grazin has withdrawn his support, the bureau decision will have to be changed because Libertas will have signatures from only six EU countries and not seven,” said Duff.
“I am satisfied that the email sent by the Estonian MP is genuine, not least because people I know have spoken to him. The fact of the matter is that his signature is needed in order to validate the application.”
He added, “This is a significant development because it is a constitutional issue. I have to say that it also proves the fragility of Mr Ganley’s enterprise.”
Libertas spokesperson Anita Kelly strongly refuted any suggestion that parliament’s bureau has been misled in any way.
She said, “I know nothing about this alleged email sent by Mr Grazin to Mr Duff.”
“The fact of the matter is that he did sign the submission which went to the bureau.
“The application was carefully scrutinised by parliament’s legal service and if it contained insufficient signatures it is hardly likely the bureau would have accepted the application because it would have been rendered invalid.”
When asked about the implications if Grazin's signature was not in the application, a well-placed parliament source said, “At a minimum the matter will have to be investigated.
“Grazin has, after all, sent an affidavit to the parliament so there are now two conflicting sources of information - the other being the application submitted by Ganley.
“Should it prove that Grazin is not one of the signatories, then Libertas will be one country short of the criterion to qualify for recognition and funding.”
Further reaction came from UK Socialist deputy Gary Titley who described Libertas as "phoney," adding, "EU funds should only go to political parties whose elected representatives were elected in their name. As far as I am aware, this is not the case with Libertas."
His party colleague, Richard Corbett said, "As far as I am concerned Libertas has not yet proved its existence. I would like the bureau to investigate further, in particular the affiliates and members Libertas claims to have."
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