LOOTING UPDATE: When you consider all the attention that Enron got in Europe, it’s interesting that scandals like this one don’t get much attention in the United States:

Four years after a sleaze row destroyed the previous European Commission, prompting its unprecedented mass resignation, the nightmare has returned to haunt its successor. . . .

The case, which was described as the “looting” of Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, uncovered a catalogue of failings and provoked calls for the Spanish commissioner Pedro Solbes Mira – who is ultimately responsible for Eurostat – to resign. . . .

In 1999 the previous Commission was forced to resign en masse after an inquiry concluded it was “becoming difficult to find anyone who has even the slightest sense of responsib-ility”. Four years later no one seems willing to take the rap.

There are differences between the cases, however. In 1999 the allegations were directed against commissioners, notably Edith Cresson who hired her dentist as a scientific adviser.

Maybe this sort of thing just isn’t news because it’s so common?

/ STRASBOURG – A fresh investigation by the EU anti-fraud office, Olaf, has been launched into the European Commission’s technology directorate over alleged systematic theft by officials, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

This contradicts claims made by the Commission yesterday (23 September) that financial irregularities were only present in the EU statistical office, Eurostat.

A confidential letter sent to Commission vice-president Neil Kinnock, seen by the Daily Telegraph, claimed the group’s health unit, C4, had skimmed million of euros through contracts with Greek companies, and claims that alleged abuses at Eurostat were “almost insignificant” by comparison.

The newspaper says that the projects were titled Childcare, Citation, e-Remedy, HealthMarket, D-lab and Pharma among others.

It appears that Unit C4 used “friendly evaluators”, who steered contracts to companies in which they had a financial interest.

I seem to remember a lot of Euro-preening about the superiority of “European-style” capitalism back when Enron was in the news. Is this what they were talking about?