Prodi refuses to sack members over fraud allegations

The European Commission survived its most serious test yesterday when its president Romano Prodi refused to sack any of his commissioners over allegations of fraud.

However, the threat of resignations will hang over at least three members of his 20 strong Cabinet until December when investigations will be complete into Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office.

Interim reports from three agencies, including the EU’s anti-fraud body Olaf, outlined how millions of euro was diverted by Eurostat’s most senior management into secret bank accounts.