Taken for a £6m (donkey) ride by Brussels wasters

Published 11th Nov 2009

An internet diary 'written' by a donkey in the Netherlands has topped a new list of the most wasteful projects funded by the EU.

The 'Donkeypedia' project is part of a £6.4million Brussels initiative to promote a 'year of intercultural dialogue'.

It tops a new list of 50 wasteful EU projects drawn up by the think tank Open Europe.

The list was released to coincide with a statement yesterday from the European Court of Auditors confirming that officials have refused to sign off the EU's accounts for the 15th year in a row because of fraud and mismanagement.

Mats Persson, research director at Open Europe, said the list had been compiled to provide 'a light-hearted illustration of what is wrong with the EU budget, and the need for fundamental reform'.

Mr Persson added: 'The European Commission tries to put the blame for fraud and waste on the member states, but the real problem is the EU budget itself.

'Too often, EU money is wasted on inefficient projects which are based on unrealistic expectations, or for which there is no real demand.
Donkeypedia graphic

'Because of the way the EU's spending schemes are set up, bizarre or wasteful projects can receive funding which never would have received money if subject only to national spending priorities.

'Unfortunately the focus of the EU budget is to get the money out of the door, not to spend the money wisely.'

The Donkeypedia project involved a donkey named Asino travelling through the Netherlands meeting primary school children and keeping an Internet diary.

The 'art education' project was supposed to promote 'intercultural dialogue'.

In one diary entry, Asino wrote: 'I was under a chestnut tree sleeping in sand, when I opened my eyes there were animals all looking at me. I was embarrassed!

'Now I understand a little how people from different cultures may feel in the Netherlands.'

Another initiative named in the new list was a £75,000 grant awarded to the Swedish city of Malmo to create an Internet version of itself for use in the computer game Second Life.

The game, in which players act out fantasy roles in a lifelike world, is said not to be particularly popular in Sweden.

The Malmo initiative is set to be abandoned next year, leading one Swedish IT expert to brand the project a 'bizarre joke'.

Also in Sweden, the town of Orsa was awarded a £730,000 grant to create a wood design centre showcasing 'gender equality design'. The funds ran out before it was finished.

Shadow Europe minister Mark Francois said the list underlined the need for reform of the EU budget.

EU auditors have signed off the European Commission's accounts but said there were still problems with the wider EU budget.

Mr Francois said there was still 'unacceptable mismanagement' in the way taxpayers' money is spent by Brussels.

He added: 'EU countries need to take more responsibility for how EU money is spent. There should be penalties for national and local authorities that fail to ensure that EU funds are spent properly.

'There are also still too many shocking examples of wasteful or pointless expenditure of taxpayers' money. This strengthens the already powerful case for major reform of the EU budget.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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