ALLIANCE FOR LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS FOR EUROPE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Brussels, 23 March 2010
Today's investigation reported in the French newspaper "Libération" denouncing the mismanagement of €27 million provided by the European Union over four years for ensuring security to its mission in Afghanistan was echoed by Pino Arlacchi (IdV, Italy), European Parliament rapporteur on Afghanistan who uncovered similar evidence in a fact finding mission to Kabul (26 Feb.-4 March). "70-80 percent of the $34 billion in aid to Afghanistan via international organizations in the past eight years never reached the Afghan people", claimed Arlacchi.
"How can we justify spending €27 million euro on hiring a private English contractor to protect the EU mission in Afghanistan, when any other European police force could have done the same job, better and for a third of that amount?" Arlacchi said, adding: "Further to what I observed first hand in Kabul, and now confirmed by La Libération's investigation, this is a case of bad mismanagement and waste of public funds, that makes the implementation of stringent and rigorous form of control more urgent than ever. I believe it is necessary now to investigate thoroughly all EU expenditure in Afghanistan."