PRIVATE EYE 1236 15-28.5.09
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
An investigation into excessive disability claims by EU civil
servants has been dismissed because of incompetence by the EU anti-
fraud squad, OLAF.
An internal audit revealed that 230 civil servants, one-fifth of the
workforce of the EU Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy , had
claimed a total of ?5.7m in disability benefits for alleged accidents
between 1996 and 2002 - an average of ?25,000 each. The audit showed
that 43 employees suffered nine or more accidents each between 1986
and 2003, which even dozy OLAF agreed "could appear at first sight
to be suspect."
Since work conditions at the Research Centre on Italy's peaceful lake
Maggiore were normal, a former director told OLAF of his surprise at
the ease with which EU benefits could be claimed, thanks to a lack of
independent medical advisers.
Despite the apparent lack of solid evidence for their claims and
relatively minor injuries, 23 employees had received more than
?50,000 between 1996 and 2002 with a couple getting ?300,000 and
eight others ?80,000. However when 14 of the civil servants took
their case to the EU's Civil Service Tribunal last month, accusing
OLAF of making baseless accusations which attacked their reputations
and of depriving them of a defence, the court found in their favour
and accused OLAF of "failing to understand the fundamental principle
of the right of defence" before it reported the suspects to the
Italian judiciary. The judges annulled the investigation and ordered
the commission to pay each of the 14 claimants ?3,000 damages
together court costs.
Perhaps the disability claims that were four times higher than in any
other EU workplace will now just as mysteriously decrease
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