Andreasen seeks 1m euros damages

Marta Andreasen, the former chief accounting officer of the European
Commission who was dismissed last year after exposing serious weaknesses in the
Brussels accounting system, has launched a third case against her former
employers seeking damages of more than 1m euros (£700,000).

Andreasen’s claim comes after she abandoned two earlier cases against the EC.
She will demand the annulment of her dismissal alleging a violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the commission’s staff
regulations.

‘I believe I have a very good case,’ she told Accountancy Age.

Andreasen believes her disastrous relationship with the commission stems from
the fact that the European bureaucracy has never been able to view her actions
as those of a whistleblower.

The EC introduced new regulations to protect whistleblowers after the
resignation of the entire commission led by Jacques Santer. But the commission
now disagrees that Andreasen falls within the definition of whistleblower coined
at the time.

In an article for Accountancy Age, Andreasen wrote: ‘The EC’s
definition doesn’t encourage people to stand up and be honest and direct.
Perceived disloyalty remains. This is a pity, because in our rapidly changing
world, where good principles are perhaps more at risk than ever before, there is
a real need for more people to stand up for them.’