http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.../23/weu123.xml
Quote:
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The Conservatives accused Brussels of "appalling extravagance" last night after it emerged that Neil Kinnock, the outgoing European commissioner, would receive a pay-off of about £277,000 over the next three years followed by an annual pension of £63,900 a year for life.
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Well, I can't imagine a better way to use our tax money. Kinnock has done a wonderful job of fighting corruption, and he should be amply rewarded. I don't think anyone would disagree that he did a wonderful job in his role as the appointed corruption-buster. Here are some of the highlights of his time at the EC:
- He valuably kept the EU on track when just about everyone else from the Santer Commission resigned because of the levels of corruption, bravely hanging in there while others ran from the hard work ahead.
- He came ever so close to getting the EC accounts signed off, and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for the nit-picking auditors.
- He protected the good name of the EU by presiding over the sacking of the Chief Accountant, Marta Andreasen, who was nothing but a libellous trouble-maker. Her accusations of poor accounting standards needed to be swiftly dealt with.
- He didn't flinch from the duty of protecting the good business relationships with EU contractors by ignoring Dorte Schmidt Brown who made wild accusations of fraud.
- He kept the growth rate of corruption down to an absolute minimum. According to the National Audit Office report, the amount of money lost to fraud grew by just 100% under Kinnock's stewardship.