Accounting system branded unreliable

THE EU Commission's accounting system, which controls €80bn per year spending, was yesterday branded as insecure and unreliable.

The allegations by a former senior accountant at the Brussels executive come as an embarrassment to the EU and the Irish Government as they prepare for a second referendum on the Treaty of Nice in mid October.

Former Commission accountant Ms Marta Andreason yesterday repeated fears about the EU's own audit service and the efficiency of a computer accounting system the so called 'Sincom 2' installed in 1999.