Paul van Buitenen (born 28 May, 1957 in Breda) was a Dutch civil servant who became the whistle blower whose allegations of fraud and mismanagement within the European Commission in 1998 led to the resignation of Jacques Santer and the other commissioners (of which Edith Cresson was particularly criticised). Van Buitenen at the time was employed as an assistant-auditor in the Commission’s Financial Control Directorate.
For his actions, Van Buitenen was disciplined and suspended by the EU. Eventually he was (at least partially) forgiven and he returned to the organisation in 2003, in a different capacity. Nevertheless, he would later leave for good in order to pursue a political career.
Pledging to continue his fight against fraud and bureaucratic inefficiency on the European level, Van Buitenen founded a party named Europa Transparant, ran with it for the European Parliament in the 2004 elections (in the Netherlands) and won two seats for his party. Van Buitenen joined the Greens-EFA group in the European Parliament as an independent member [1].
His current functions in the European Parliament are
- Member of the Committee on Budgetary Control ,
- Substitute for the Committee on Petitions and
- Substitute for the Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and to the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Biography
- 1977: Foundation course in mechanical engineering (Eindhoven Technical College
- 1979-1980: Military service
- 1980: Diploma in bookkeeping
- 1980-1985: Assistant accountant
- 1983: Foundation course at the Netherlands Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- 1985-1986: Head of the planning department in a manufacturing company
- 1986-1990: University budget policy adviser
- 1990-2002 and 2003-2004: Official of the European Commission
- 2002-2003: Financial management advisor to the police
See also: European Parliament election, 2004 (Netherlands)
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