Elton John paid with EU funds for Italian gig
The EU has opened an inquiry to throw light on the use of European funds for an Elton John gig in Italy, after a politician denounced the concert was paid with money devoted to culture and heritage.
The concert took place as part of the Piedigrotta festival and was held in Naples in September 2009. The organisers spent 750,000 euros (£637,000) on Sir Elton John's gig – money that came from a European fund aimed at supporting the region's cultural heritage.
Mario Borghezio, European MP for the Italian party Lega Nord, took the case before the European Commission, to denounce what he called “a criminal waste of money”.
He told The Fresh Outlook: “This case is shameful. I took it to the Commission because I wanted to highlight how awfully European funds are used in certain regions.”
“I am not an expert on musical events, but it doesn't take an expert to realise that there is no need to pay a star such as Elton John with public money. His cachet would have easily been paid off by the people buying tickets.”
The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, took up the call and announced an inquiry.
Ton van Lierop, Commission's Regional Policy spokesperson, told the BBC: “We're asking the managing authority about this. We want to know why they think it fits in with the rules. We want to know why this concert benefited the region.”
Dario Scalabrini, from the Campania tourism office, played down the accusations: “The EU has already approved the project. This money was given for the marketing of the city, and that is what we did. Just consider the number of people who stayed in Naples because of the concert.”
The kind of funds used are given by the EU to local authorities and are to be used for regional development. The commission's inquiry will determine whether the use of the money to pay Sir Elton's concert complied with the regulations.
“This is only the latest striking example, but I denounced many others in the past,” said Mr Borghezio. “I have already called for the establishment of an official monitoring body within the EU, to monitor cases of this kind. This happened because of the lack of proper inspections.”
He added that episodes such as this are evidence of how European funds are used in some southern Italian regions, in a way that does not comply with EU regulations.
Referring to the recent collapse of an important building in the archaeological site of Pompeii, not far from Naples, Mr Borghezio said: “That money could have been spent to restore the area of Pompeii, to protect the site.”
“According to the subsidiarity principle, Europe gives the funds, but the regions are those that administer them. Spending European money in this way is ludicrous.”
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
Nov 2010
The concert took place as part of the Piedigrotta festival and was held in Naples in September 2009. The organisers spent 750,000 euros (£637,000) on Sir Elton John's gig – money that came from a European fund aimed at supporting the region's cultural heritage.
Mario Borghezio, European MP for the Italian party Lega Nord, took the case before the European Commission, to denounce what he called “a criminal waste of money”.
He told The Fresh Outlook: “This case is shameful. I took it to the Commission because I wanted to highlight how awfully European funds are used in certain regions.”
“I am not an expert on musical events, but it doesn't take an expert to realise that there is no need to pay a star such as Elton John with public money. His cachet would have easily been paid off by the people buying tickets.”
The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, took up the call and announced an inquiry.
Ton van Lierop, Commission's Regional Policy spokesperson, told the BBC: “We're asking the managing authority about this. We want to know why they think it fits in with the rules. We want to know why this concert benefited the region.”
Dario Scalabrini, from the Campania tourism office, played down the accusations: “The EU has already approved the project. This money was given for the marketing of the city, and that is what we did. Just consider the number of people who stayed in Naples because of the concert.”
The kind of funds used are given by the EU to local authorities and are to be used for regional development. The commission's inquiry will determine whether the use of the money to pay Sir Elton's concert complied with the regulations.
“This is only the latest striking example, but I denounced many others in the past,” said Mr Borghezio. “I have already called for the establishment of an official monitoring body within the EU, to monitor cases of this kind. This happened because of the lack of proper inspections.”
He added that episodes such as this are evidence of how European funds are used in some southern Italian regions, in a way that does not comply with EU regulations.
Referring to the recent collapse of an important building in the archaeological site of Pompeii, not far from Naples, Mr Borghezio said: “That money could have been spent to restore the area of Pompeii, to protect the site.”
“According to the subsidiarity principle, Europe gives the funds, but the regions are those that administer them. Spending European money in this way is ludicrous.”
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
Nov 2010