The European Union’s public prosecutor (EPPO) has confirmed to POLITICO that it is investigating allegations of fund mismanagement.
Public contracts for friends and irregular donations
The alleged misuse concerns the budget allocated by Parliament for political groups for administrative and operational expenses, as well as for political and informational activities, commonly referred to as “budget item 400.”
According to a financial audit reported by Le Monde, the group violated public tender regulations when awarding contracts for advertisements, community management, and printing services across several companies in Austria, France, and Germany, with expenditures totaling approximately €3,598,803.
“The tender procedure was conducted as a purely formal exercise, without showing the intent to have a choice of offers to select the best possible provider,” the report states.
Additionally, the report suggests that public contracts may have been awarded to businesses with ties to the party.
In one instance, advertising contracts in an Austrian magazine were directly given to a company led by a former MEP from the Austrian FPÖ party, who is a member of the ID group and current member of Patriots.
Leave a Reply