Marta Andreasen

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Marta Andreasen in 2014 in the European Parliament

Marta Andreasen (born November 26, 1954 in Buenos Aires , Argentina ) is a Spanish - British accountant and politician ( UK Independence Party ). She has been a member of the European Parliament since the 2009 European elections . She became known above all after, in 2002, when she was the chief accountant of the European Commission, she criticized the European Commission's accounting system and warned against its susceptibility to fraud.

Professional background

In 1977, Andreasen became a Certified Public Accountant in Buenos Aires and then worked for Price Waterhouse as an auditor for five years . From 1982 she worked as a finance and administration manager, then as a regional finance department manager in various companies, such as Rockwell Automation and Lotus Development , mainly in Spain.

OECD

From 1998, Andreasen worked at the OECD , where she reported serious problems with their bookkeeping, raised concerns about management and suggested reforms. After initial resistance, the audit firm Arthur Andersen was commissioned to carry out an external analysis. In August 2000, their report identified the OECD's internal accounting system as outdated and inadequate. Andreasen was nevertheless suspended from her job for 15 months.

Business magazine Accountancy Age stated in October 2003 that Andreasen's spell ended at the OECD when it tried to bring the organization to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that its human rights had been violated by denying it a "fair trial". followed by allegations of racism and by their "unreasonable doubts" and unsupported "alarming allegations" related to the OECD accounts. The OECD never confirmed that the racism allegations were part of the cause of their suspension. Andreasen had already dismissed the allegations in Accountancy magazine in October 2000 ("Andreasen claims that the allegations against her arose after she raised concerns about the accounts").

European Commission

In January 2002, she started her new job as a budget execution director and accounting officer at the European Commission , which she claims was the first professional accountant to be employed there.

Andreasen criticized that the accounting for the budget of the European Union was prone to fraud, expressed criticism internally and made suggestions for changes. According to her own information, her office found 10,000 possible cases of fraud in EU accounts in 2002 alone. Indeed, Andreasen's criticism was on a similar line to that of the European Court of Auditors , which had also criticized the European Commission's accounting every year since 1994. At the discharge for the EU budget 2003 the Commission promised a comprehensive reform. However, it was not until 2009 that the Court of Auditors ascertained that the accounts were properly kept.

Since Andreasen's superiors took no action in response to her criticism at the beginning of 2002, she submitted her report to the then Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer and the Commission President Romano Prodi , again without success. Finally, she also turned to members of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control . Due to her objections to the EU bookkeeping, Andreasen also refused to sign the 2001 accounts of the European Commission . As a result, she was temporarily suspended from her service and subjected to disciplinary proceedings in May 2002 for "violating Articles 12 and 21 of the Employee Policy and Failure to show sufficient loyalty and respect". On August 1, 2002, she finally went public with her concerns.

In 2005, Andreasen was finally dismissed by the Commission, which was confirmed by the Civil Service Tribunal of the European Union in its decision of 8 November 2007.

Journalistic activity

After her dismissal from the service of the commission, Andreasen presented her criticism and the measures to be taken in a series of interviews and speeches. Her first appearances included invitations to the fraud investigators in Las Vegas, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) in Ireland and the UK business magazine Accountancy Age , which presented her with the 2003 Accountancy Age Award for Personality of the Year. In 2004, the Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award followed for "choosing truth over self".

In 2009 her book Brussels Laid Bare was published , in which she presented her experiences in the European Commission.

Political career

In 2007 it was announced that Andreasen would be the new Treasurer of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), whose main objective is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. In the European elections in the United Kingdom in 2009 , she won a seat in the European Parliament for the constituency of South East England for UKIP . In September 2009, she then resigned from the post of treasurer.

In the European Parliament, Andreasen belongs to the eurosceptic group Europe of Freedom and Democracy , of which she is also Vice-Chair. She is also a member of the Budgetary Control Committee , which is responsible for auditing the European Commission's accounts. However, your candidacy for vice-chair of this committee was blocked by the Christian Democratic Group of the European People's Party . She is also a member of the Committee on Budgets and the Special Committee on Political Challenges and Budgetary Means for a Sustainable European Union after 2013 . She is a deputy in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Petitions Committee .

In April 2010 Andreasen announced her intention to apply for the vacant position of Director General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). However, this position was given to the Italian politician and public prosecutor Giovanni Kessler on December 14, 2010 .

family

Andreasen has two brothers, Carlos and Walter, who live in Argentina. She is married to the economist Octavio Otano. You have two children (born in 1981 and 1984) and live in Barcelona .

Publications

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreasen, Marta: Brussels Laid Bare , page 20. St. Edwards Press Ltd, July 2009
  2. ↑ Andreasen, Marta: Brussels Laid Bare , page 10. St. Edwards Press Ltd, July 2009
  3. ↑ Andreasen, Marta: Brussels Laid Bare , page 31. St. Edwards Press Ltd, July 2009
  4. ↑ a b Andreasen, Marta: Brussels Laid Bare, St. Edwards Press Ltd, July 2009
  5. ↑ Marta Andreasen entry on euabc.com.
  6. ↑ The Marta Andreasen and Fabra Valles cases: an exclusive JUST Response report from the Dougal Watt Dossier - Mismanagement and Corruption in Europe ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.justresponse.net archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Letter from Robert Dougal Watt, Auditor, European Court of Auditors, to Michel Hervé, Secretary General, European Court of Auditors, September 16, 2002.
  7. ↑ European Commission : Report of the Court of Auditors .
  8. ↑ Becky Barrow: I'm not a politician - just a bean-counter, says Andreasen ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www4.dr-rath-foundation.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Daily Telegraph: February 8, 2002
  9. ↑ Andreasen v Commission on curia.europa.eu
  10. ^ UKIP prepares for battle over EU , BBC News, October 5, 2007
  11. ^ David Charter: Marta Andreasen, UKIP's treasurer and Brussels whistleblower, resigns , The Times. September 8, 2009. 
  12. ↑ Andreasen fails in bid for EU budget committee ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accountancy Age , July 22, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.accountancyage.com
  13. ↑ European Parliament: MEPs: Marta Andreasen , accessed on 3 December 2011
  14. ↑ Whistleblower seeks to head EU anti fraud unit ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accountancy Age , April 15, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.accountancyage.com
  15. ↑ VALENTINA POP: Italian appointed head of EU's anti-fraud office. In: EUobserver.com. December 14, 2010, accessed on December 15, 2010 (English): "According to his CV, Mr Kessler is fluent in both English and German as well as his native Italian."

See also

personal data
SURNAME Andreasen, Marta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish-British accountant and politician (UKIP), MEP
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Buenos Aires , Argentina