International

On the initiative of SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong and other members of the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee, former member of the European Court of Auditors Maarten Engwirda was yesterday invited to a meeting of the committee to be held behind closed doors. Statements by Engwirda, published earlier this month by Dutch national daily De Volkskrant, to the effect that during his term of office many matters had been swept under the carpet, with numerous members paying too much attention to their country’s national interests, caused a storm of reaction. ‘It’s good that Engwirda will be able to inform the European Parliament without having to watch his words,’ De Jong explains. ‘His allegations must be thoroughly investigated’.