this is a very pertinent question on an issue which the commission takes very seriously and is therefore following closely and with great concern
the commission is a very strong supporter of the global fund to fight aids tuberculosis and malaria
the fund has been very successful and it is my full intention to work with the fund to solve the issues as soon as possible in order for the commission to continue to be one of the biggest contributors to the fund
it is important to underline that the problems identified did not arise from the fund itself but in individual countries from the people contracted to implement the programmes
these are countries where very careful attention always has to be paid to avoid such problems
it is public knowledge that the office of the inspector general of the global fund has been conducting enquiries in respect of the use of usd four point eight billion in thirty-three countries
these enquiries have taken place either on a systematic basis or in response to information received on the potential misappropriation of funds
its inquiry is now complete in line with common practice the oig has issued a report and published it on the website of the global fund
this practice has proven effective and transparent in implementing the global fund's stated policy of zero tolerance of corruption
for our part the commission has commissioned an independent five-pillar audit of the global fund as required under european union financial regulations for all organisations benefiting from eu financial support
the audit report delivered in november twenty ten expressed the auditors overall conclusion that the global fund's internal control environment respects the principles of division of responsibilities and of management control of country and regional financial reporting
so standard mechanisms and controls are in place to ensure that funds received from donors are properly handled
however the auditors made several suggestions to improve the management of funds in addition to existing risk management strategy
following this report my services are currently discussing the needed modifications designed to improve and speed up the global fund reform agenda approved on four january
we are also undertaking a second audit mission including country visits to follow up on the institutional assessment
through a letter dated twenty-seven january twenty eleven and a teleconference on two february i have already contacted the executive director of the global fund mr kazatchkine to express the urgent need for additional reforms to further strengthen the fund's ground management processes and operations
in the meantime during the board meeting called on two february the secretariat of the global fund proposed an external review to be carried out by the global fund oversight mechanism
this was welcomed by board members
so in reply to your question as to whether the commission has considered halting eu funding to the global fund i would inform you that the commission has notified the global fund executive director and the board members that the eu contributions are being put on hold
in parallel i consider that the european union and the commission in particular must maintain its overall commitment to the global fund objectives reform process and strategy of alignment to country and health systems
in this respect the commission is identifying clear criteria to apply before further contributions to the global fund can be resumed
these measures for ensuring prevention and detection of fraud have no implication in the delivery of vital treatment to the patient but at the same time understand that we need to have in place new strengthened control mechanisms very fast because as time passes indefinitely holding on to payments is not the best option
we need additional strengthened control mechanisms at country level which will decrease the risk of misappropriation of the funds and can then resume payment
the commission will as i said remain a keen supporter of the fund because the fund has achieved fantastic results but there has been fraud and we need to deal with that fraud appropriately
