By Martin Banks - 11th January 2010
I would be caught between parliament, which as we know is keen on naming and shaming, and council on this
Janusz Lewandowski
Janusz Lewandowski, the commission-designate for budgets, has pledged to tackle fraud in EU funding.
Addressing the budgets committee on Monday, the Pole said that continuing "irregularity" in the way EU cash, especially regional funds, are spent is "intolerable."
He said that, if approved by parliament, he would seek to "name and shame" those member states which fail to properly account for the management of EU funding.
But he also warned that any such efforts are likely to face resistance from many member states which, he pointed out, are responsible for spending up 80 per cent of EU funds.
"As commissioner," he said, "I would be caught between parliament, which as we know is keen on naming and shaming, and council on this."
Members of three other committees, budgetary control, regional development and agriculture, also took part in the discussion.
Lewandowski is well-known to MEPs after he was elected a deputy in the 2004 European elections. He is a former chairman of the committee on budgets.
He received a generally positive reaction from most MEPs who questioned him for three hours on how he would handle the important budgets portfolio in José Manuel Barroso's new commission.
The hearing was the first in a series of such debates commissioners-designate will face over the next few days.
Lewandowski, an economics graduate, noticeably grew in confidence as the hearing went on, fielding questions across a range of areas.
He pledged to "take on board" reform of the Common Agriculture Policy, acknowledging that the CAP is the "most criticised" of EU policies.
However, the former EPP member refused to be drawn on the cost of further EU enlargement other than to say that Turkey would account for some 60 per cent of funds for accession countries.
"Beyond that, this is not a question I need deal with this year, "he said.
When asked about the possibility of an EU-wide tax, however, he appeared less clear.
"I am open towards any new idea providing it meets certain criteria, including visibility, transparency, fiscal neutrality and the cost of collection," he told the packed hearing.
On the issue of budget fraud, he said the estimated 11 per cent "scale of error" in the spending of cohesion funds was "intolerable."
But he went on to say that the "volume of error" had been cut, ensuring that citizens got "better value" for the way EU funds are spent.
Committee member Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, from the ALDE group, encouraged the Pole to "name and shame" offending member states, saying this was the "chief weapon" at his disposal in tackling EU fraud and "driving down" irregularities.
German member Helga Trupel, a Greens deputy, said, "What is needed in this area is a change in the political spirit and thinking of member states."
After the hearing, one MEP, who did not wish to be named, said, "He is experienced and gave a good account of himself."
Parliament votes in plenary on the whole commission on 26 January.
