Perhaps the British people should take to the streets in large numbers to protest the EU and to force Brown and the Parliament to give you a vote on this so called new treaty.

Jenny, Grand Rapids, MI, US

MPs are employed by the people and paid by the people. They should account for every penny they spend. The gravy train known as Westminster where MPs quaff subsidised champagne and get subsidised meals should be halted. No employer would allow alchohol on business premises yet, as ever, MPs live in a glass bubble immune from reality. Shame on the lot of them.

D Davenport, Epping, Essex

I don't understand your headline - the report wasn't hushed up "by Brussels" but by the so-called democratically elected representatives that the people of Britain and the other Member States send to Brussels

joe, brussels, belgium

Its not the abuse but the cover up that we should be worried about. Although our own parliment has some kickbacks, this is minimised (as the Derek Conway affair proves) because the other side will make political capital out of it.

With no clear party lines in Europe, and a sense that their political success is largely linked with their domestic politics rather than what they do in their own jobs, accountability is very low and no one has an incentive to grass the other side up.

The slide to a corrupt, pious superstate is upon us!

Mathew Davies, Cardiff,

As well as a proper published audit of MP and MEP's expenses we must consider modifying the electoral process!?!

We must have a "None of the above or Below" box as an alternative to the usual list on the ballot paper! This will allow people to vote who at the moment do not because "they are all the same only in it for what they can get" syndrome.
If the number of votes for this box is a certain percentage of the total vote (say 30%) then the poll is re run with a total change in the list of candidates.

It is high time the politicians are given a good shake up and reminded of their duties!

Alternatively we could use the lottery, polotto(c), to choose our politicians, there would be a good turnout, we would have a good random representation, and there would be a tremendous regiment of over qualified advisors available to assist?

Jim Golightly, Prudhoe, England

What angers me is that it is the same MEPs who try to lecutre European governments (especially those from E Europe) about corruption at national levels.

I have no doubt that the commissioners and EU Courts are even worse.

Edwin, Bucharest,

Q. Was there a free trade treaty before we joined the EU? A. Yes, EFTA (European Free Trade Association - and it's doing very well. It includes Norway and Switzerland. How about a re-run of the 1975 referendum? a) Continue with the EU, or b) Switch to EFTA. EFTA has only 90 staff vs 20,000+ with the EU. They only have 300 new regulations a year vs. 1,000+ with the EU. You run your own: agriculture, fisheries, home affairs, justice and more. They also have their accounts signed off. Google: efta , for website, then on 'seminars' you'll find powerpoint presentations.

Hugo van Randwyck, London, UK

Having just read your related links to articles published over the past 5 years everyone can see the truth that there is no way of stopping this rampant greed and abuse of authority.
Whenever anyone is put in a position of representing other people they should take on the mantle of trust, honesty, clear & open communication and respect for their privilege (for which they are paid very well). Unfortunately the reverse is so often true; with their new-found power it creates greed and corruption. This is not just prevalent in so-called 3rd World countries but throughout the whole World. No amount of administration and checking of procedures together with well-meaning legislation can stop this disease of mankind!

Peter Jezeph, Guildford, Surrey

Having worked in Brussels for 30 years (-not in the commision--not in the parliament!!!) I can confirm this perception------ But who guards the guards ??

john, nice, france

J Roberts - I am currently in Toronto, and I can assure you that the Little Englander idea of an Anglosphere is a complete myth. This is one of the most diverse cities that I have been to. Oh, and by the way J Roberts Canada is bilingual with signs in French and English - so where is your fabricated Anglosphere now? I suggest going back to bed and dreaming about the fairies. Get with the EU and get with the 21st century.

Jon Kingsbury, Toronto, Canada (normally UK)

This is the same EU that fired the internal accountant who refused to sign off on the accounts that did not balance because of the fraud going on, (the same fraud that Neil Kinnock was supposed to erradicate) you know how the saying goes, "a fish starts to stink from it head" but as another commetator mentioned how are they all voted in in the first place? How can you vote them out?
Obviously the best thing to do would be to prosecute but I do not think that will happen because these people are treated as demigods he untouchables.
They would not survive in the business world where you have to account for every penny, no receipt no expenses

Nick P., Camberley Surrey, England

J Roberts is hilarious. 85-90% of UK trade is within the EU, and the figure increases by the day. Millions of jobs would literally be lost should the UK decide to look for our Anglo-Saxon "friends", whose biggest trading partners are China and Japan, not our country. Do you really think the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand would choose the UK market instead of the Chinese, Japanese and, increasingly, South Korean? Please.

Michael, Kent, UK

This really is SICK!

With the money they earn and the benefits they have, how can they behave in this manner? Have they no shame and shouldn't they be setting the example? Or am I just 'old-fashioned'?

The name of the game today seems to be, to get your head in the trough as quickly and for as long as possible!!!

I suppose this will be covered over and the culprits will carry on!

Peter NICOL, Villers-la-Ville, Belgium

Is it true that then EU auditors have not signed off accounts for last few years, perhaps that should be checked, Jim

jim, donegal, ireland

To Shirley Bowen in Blackpool.

The accounting books have always been audited through the years. The auditors produced many reports of missing hundreds of millions of Euros, but nobody within the Euro Parliament takes notice. Nobody is willing to sign the auditor's reports and they are kept in secret cabinets, beyond the access of ordinary people

adam, london, uk

MEPs who fiddle their expenses are MEPs who lay themselves open to being bribed or blackmailed. Europe matters have often proved conflicting to British people, and at the heart of this is trust. If this is broken, Europe will have no standing in the eyes of UK citizens.

Chris Clark, Ruislip Manor, UK

Chris Davies tried to uncover other similar scandals before. This time everything is highly secretive and I hope he doesn't stop until everything comes out.

WELL DONE CHRIS

Joe, EXETER, uk

There is only one way to put a stop to this wholesale fraud: successful criminal prosecution.

Perhaps they should be held for 90 days without charge so that sufficient evidence can be gathered without interference.

Ross, Ripon, UK

So what's new ?
These people have been doing things like this since the year dot....
They get to be a representative of the people, they get a nice warm office, and a secretary, and an expenses book.....
woo hoo they're on the gravy boat...
It's nothing new !
Get used to it....
ex-pat.

R E Wheeler, Vallarta, Mexico

Read the "Pay and Expenses" page on Chris Davies' website.

http://www.chrisdaviesmep.org.uk/Pay%20&%20Expenses/Pay%20&%20Expenses.htm

He appears to be one of the few hard-working, honest politicians currently engaged as a member of a parliament.

Unfortunately his voce is swamped by hundreds of others who are riding the Euro gravy-train for their personal benefit.

Any person can look at the way the EU is constituted and run to identify where massive savings can be made. eg. Why the annual move of the European Parliament between Brussels and Strasbourg?
Pointless, disruptive and a complete waste of taxpayers' money.

The enlargement of the EU has only made matters worse with an influx of politicians and hangers-on who have a tradition of graft and corruption ( no apologies for telling the truth here). The enlargement, of course, was promoted, supported and carried out by those who wanted increased opportunities for personal gain.

Good luck Mr Davies and watch your back

R Bingham, Lauzun, France

Why does Britain choose to involve itself in the seedy political underworld of the EU. Why do we associate with Europe? They are about 15 years behind this country, even the 'modern' ones like France and don't even get me started on Eastern Europe.

Britain should look to the Anglosphere, our cousins (Canada, Australia, USA and New Zealand) if it wants to create close economic ties with another set of countries and unlike the rest of Europe they don't utterly despise us. GET BRITAIN OUT OF EUROPE NOW.

J Roberts, Manchester, UK

Wasn't neil Kinnock appointed many years ago to investigate and root out fraud? Another Labour failure. By the way don't his wife and son work for the EU?

c chapman, corridonia, italy

I think you'll find that this issue was raised a few years ago and was effectively neutered by a committee including Neil Kinnock. The travelling expenses abuse (claiming for 1st class air travel and actually travelling by e.g. train), amongst others, has been going on for years, but the system set up allows them to do just that. I agree, this gravy train should definitely be audited, and retrospectively to see just how much this has been abused. If politicians generally wonder why they are mistrusted this issue should give an inkling. What about the other ones not yet uncovered?

P. Kelly, Beverley, UK

Neil Kinnock was paid a large salary and now receives a nice pension for failing to negate the corruption within the EU. Why are we, the public, still expected to reward incompetence?

Brian Christley, Abergele, UK

It would be helpful for readers to know what MEP's salaries and other perks are, and what are their duties in terms of hours per week of attendance in at the European Parliament. Also, how are they elected? I gather this varies from country to country which strikes me as wrong. One European Union one set of rules for all.

Alicia, Rome, Italy

All MPs / MEPs are crooks, they line their own pockets. What real value are they adding, £130k for personnal assistants - how laughable is that, you have to blame the EU for first having such lavish limits for expenses and then hushing the report up. They should prosecutions for this behaviour, if I were to claim fraudulant expenses at work and go caught, what do you think would happen - I woudl get prosecuted, and probably sent to jail - why is it different for these people who are supposed to protect the society that we live in?

KP, Leicester, UK

What? MEP's on the fiddle? surely not, they are as honest as the day is long... aren't they?
Ha Ha!

Graham , Littlehampton,

Us in the UK cannot even control our own abuse by OUR Politicians what chance have we of controling abuse in europe. We was the envy of the world in the way we managed our systems and procedures, we are the laughing stock of the world, we now cannot do anything correct and lose everything.
In football terms this government TALK a good game but are bottom of the league, in football when you are bottom of the league the management and players get the sack but in government the worse you play the better job you get ( Mandelson, Hughes, The guy who lost our data at the revenue and many more). If labour are re elected then l think the British public have submitted to being relegated even further than maybe we will need europe to give us a say in world events just like the other SMALL countries in europe do.

david reardon, nuneaton,

First it was the UK Parliament, now the Euro Parliament. Are there any decent polititians?

CHRIS MILES, manchester, uk

When the government talk about 'forging' ever closer lies with Europe. we understand more clearly what they mean.
I trust that these fraudsters will be named and shamed or does signing confidentiality clauses prohibit disclosure of the euro-thieves ?

R.M., London, ~Europe

The people of Europe know this is going on and THAT'S WHY most would vote against the 'Treaty' as it presently stands, the reason we wont get one and one of the main reasons for the French and Dutch voting against the Constitution. Why, the books haven't been audited for over ten years and tells the public all it needs to know about the 'carry on' in Brussels.

We see the double standards of our politicians every day, for instance, the public are threatened and taxed on green issues whilst, on TV, we see self important ministers being chauffeur driven half a mile or so round the corner to Westminster to make their futile 'reports'.

Yes, becoming a 'politician' (for want of a better word) has become a very lucrative career move for many. People of the ilk of Bill Cash, Frank Dobson, Frank Fields are, alas, becoming increasingly rarer.

Shirley Bowen, Blackpool, UK

What is the EU for if not to promote cross continent corruption?

John Ledbury, Kings Lynn, England

Can't the people who run the EU understand that the cover-up of this is worse than the fiddling of expenses in the first place? Those of us who live in the EU have every aspect of our lives regulated by this body. The EU is shooting itself in the foot by its policy of secrecy. No wonder people have no confidence in the EU. So please can we have the referendum we were promised?

George, Bolton , UK

And we wonder why young people don't want to vote anymore?

And do I blame them ? No!

If you can't trust them sack them!

Harry, Gravesend, UK

The word 'politician' is now so synonymous with 'corruption' we might as well merge the two and refer to these people in future as 'corrupticians'.

Huw, Killarney, Ireland

I hate to say it, but this comes as no surprise whatsoever. More politicians with their noses in the trough? No one with the power to, prepared to do anything about it? I've written it before on these pages but it's never been printed, but back in the day, politicians caught doing this kind of thing at least had the common decency to say "I resign"... none of this lot appear to even have that level of understanding. Either that or they don't think we (the people) are worth listening to - except when it comes to their re-election, of course, which lasts just as long as it takes them to get back to the trough.

It may sound like a cop-out but I'll be voting Lib Dem next election. Better the devil you know just doesn't cut it any more - I'd rather see a devil we don't know than put up with this kind of blatant corruption, whitewash and cover-up any longer.

You never know - the Lib Dems might even do something about it. Anything's better than this sorry state of affairs continuing.

Steve, London, UK

Is anyone out there even surprised? I'm not even anti-Europe but the financial underworld that seems to exist in Brussels completely undermines any positive arguments for greater European integration. We can sit back and laugh at countries like Italy going through prime minister after prime minister and scandal after scandal, but these are the people, and the attitudes, that are apparently prevalent in the EU.

Chris, Worthing, England

I agree that the MEPs who defraud the european taxpayers should be punished, but the people I would like to see named and shamed are the ones who tried to keep it secret.

I am no legal expert but does their action not amount to conspiracy?

It would be good for Mr Davies to force this and prove that not all politians are crooked.

Neil, Portsmouth,

As usual with those that set the rules, rest assured that NO one will be prosecuted for fraud or any other crime for that matter. Remember the Derek Conway affair, Peter Mandelson mortgage & on & on you could go.
That is why the vast majority of younger people in this country have no respect for authority when those who set the rules are the worst abusers of rules & regulations.

Mark Angus, Peterhead, Scotland

More corrupt but less competant than the Mafia...........

mike, oxford, england

Only the very naive can be surprised by this story.
Only the optimistic will believe much will change.

James, Dijon, France

Business as usual for the fat-cat politicians!

Derek Clifton, Andover, Hampshire, England

So what is new - this knowledge has been in the public domain for years and the EU has sjown no inclination to even make an attempt to curb this practice.

Tom, Bristol,

Derek Conway was "small-change" and he had to go. Once again hard-working taxpayers receive a good kick to the head, as it were. Will there be any change as a result of this report?

Des, Edinburgh,

Nothing new is it. It's the biggest con yet. If this was someone in business and the tax man or VAT man found fraud on such a scale when checking the books they would certainly haul them before the courts. It seems our "Honourable Gentleman" are anything but. It really does beggar belief that they are allowed to get away with fiddling on such a grand scale. No one is ever made an example of. When is Honesty going to become a part of a Politicians life.

June Sumner, Retford, Notts

Oh suprise, suprise politicians ripping off the very people they are meant to represent and support.

This report should be made public immediately and all parties found to be guilty should be prosecuted and punished accordingly (this should include the repayment off all illicitily gained funds plus a substantial fine - perhaps 3 years MEP salary?). They should all then be sent to prison. If that means there are not enough left to run the EU parliment then lets dissolve it and save even more money! Then the same should be done at Westminster as I'm sure exactly the same happens there. I should imagine politicians have always been the same and always will. Given a government is a necessity the only sensible thing to do is limit the number of politiians we have to those absolutely essential, then there's fewer people to rip us all off. As far as I'm concerned that means ditching the EU parliment altogether as I can't see what tangible benefit it brings to the people of the UK.

ton, northants,

This is what people have known for years and i thank Mr Davies for speaking out, it is another reason why we should have a referendum on the EU

John , carlisle, England