Conflicts
EU Commission spent 1/3 billion on External consultants in 5 years - many former commissioners
EU chiefs are being urged to be more transparent over how many of their former staff are working for firms receiving Brussels cash.
UKIP made the call after figures released to Euronews revealed the European Commission (EC) spent 332-million euros on external consultants from 2009-2013.
It included 1.7m euros on a Europe-wide language survey 800,000 euros on a study into flood-prone areas in Serbia and 718,000 euros for a report on the untapped potential of the single market.
UKIP has joined demands for more openness around influential civil servants who move to the private sector.
The European Ombudsman has already urged a revamp of rules to fight the “revolving doors” phenomenon. Emma O’Reilly called for the EC to publish the names of senior officials who leave to work outside the EU administration.
UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge told Euronews: “These figures are astronomical and demonstrate why the lucrative revolving door at the Commission keeps on spinning.
WHAT WAS THE MONEY SPENT ON?
To give a flavour of what the money was spent on, here are 12 items from 2012 and 2013:
| SERVICE | FEE PAID |
| Being a contact point for the European Network for Rural Development. | €2,172,609 |
| European survey on language competences | €1,761,050 |
| Technical and administrative assistance for the European Evaluation Network for rural Development. | €802,568 |
| Study of flood-prone areas in Serbia | €799,800 |
| Study on the cost of “non-Europe/single market” | €718,000 |
| Assessing and controlling ragweed in the EU | €681,480 |
| Assessment of farmers’ costs of compliance with EU legislation | €528,541 |
| Customs study | €499,082 |
| Information campaign for the European Year of Citizens 2013 | €484,888 |
| Analysis on future developments in the milk sector | €358,265 |
| Evaluation of European school Milk Scheme | €303,505 |
| Organisation of European Commission’s presence at food and hospitality exhibition in Shanghai, China. | €193,360 |
“The commission has spent over 332 million euros on external consultancies over the last five years. This raises serious questions about how many of these consultancies are employing ex-Commission officials. For the sake of transparency these details must be released."
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