With funds from the European Parliament, he claimed the presidency of PASOK in 2017 against Fofi Gennimata
Nikos Androulakis appears to have used European Parliament money, which is given to MEPs for their actions strictly related to their duties as MEPs, to claim the presidency of PASOK. N. Androulakis himself has registered these expenses in the expenses of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), but, as it appears from the documents in Documento’s possession, they relate to his election campaign to claim his presidency party in 2017 with an opponent Fofi Birthday and six more co-candidates. This practice of N. Androulakis naturally poses a moral issue, since while his co-candidates were running for the presidency of KINAL by spending their own resources on events, he turned the European Union into his sponsor, deceiving the S&D, after revealing the expenses as expenses related to his activity as a Eurosocialist MEP.
At the same time, however, there is also a serious issue of a legal nature, since it is a distorted use of European funds, an offense that falls under the investigative powers of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). OLAF is already investigating other Greek MEPs who are accused of having appropriated for themselves sums that should have been used to pay for actions related to the European Parliament. OLAF must investigate whether N. Androulakis has used the same method in the internal party elections of 2021, through which he was elected president. However, circles of the Eurosocialists in Brussels commented in Documento that the fact that while Androulakis had been elected president of KINAL-PASOK, he continued to hold the seat of the MEP was very strongly discussed in the S&D. Which gave the impression that he was dealing with the position of MEP not as a political fact but as an economic one.
Thousands of euros but not from his pocket
On September 8, 2017, N. Androulakis announced on the same day as Fofi Gennimata that he would run for the presidency of a political body for the evolution of PASOK. His internal party opponents were also Stavros TheodorakisThe Yannis Ragousisthe former mayor George KaminisThe Dimitris TziotisThe George ManiatisThe Apostolos Pontas and Kostas Gatsios. After two elections, Fofi Gennimata was elected president.
Throughout the intra-party election campaign, N. Androulakis appeared particularly active, holding events to promote his candidacy throughout the country, something that his opponents seemed unable to do, mainly citing the cost of the events as a problem.
At that time, Androulakis was a member of the European Parliament of PASOK in the Eurosocialist Group. At the end of the year, he submitted to the Eurosocialist S&D party the list of expenses he incurred. These costs are paid by the European budget to the parties and concern events related to the MEPs’ duties, travel related to their activity, communication and equipment.
In this list (a part of which Documento has at his disposal) N. Androulakis justified expenses he allegedly incurred as a member of the European Parliament and related to room rentals for events and travel throughout Greece. However, these expenses related to the pre-election intra-party period. Practically speaking, it seems that the S&D and by extension the European Parliament paid for events that Androulakis held throughout Greece in order to be elected party president.
Meetings in hotels
Documento cross-referenced the events mentioned in the S&D list and are supposed to be events in the context of the action of MEP N. Androulakis with what was recorded that day as his activity by the news media and his own social media.
On October 22, 2017, according to the list of expenses filed to be paid by the European Parliament, Androulakis paid 242 euros for “rental of a function room at the Lucy Hotel”. The search on the internet shows that indeed Androulakis spoke at the Lucy Hotel in Chalkida, but the event had nothing to do with Europe and the European Parliament, on the contrary it was an event for his election to the presidency of KINAL, which he himself had posted on social media with the slogan of his election campaign #mazi.
On the same day, another function room at the Samaras Hotel was also paid for (based on the “European” invoice). The search proves that Androulakis spoke the same day, claiming the presidency of the party, at the Samaras Hotel in Lamia.
On October 23, 2017, Androulakis made a pre-election speech in Piraeus at the Kremlin. The rental of the space cost 500 euros and was also paid for by the European Parliament.
On November 3, 2017, Androulakis had spoken, as can be seen from press reports, in Larissa, at the Divani hotel. The event had the slogan “We will be #together” and of course it was his pre-election event. The hall was rented, as can be seen from the official books of the Eurosocialist Group, from the budget of the European Parliament. The cost was 725.81 euros.
On November 5, 2017, at an event in Ioannina, at the Du Lac Hotel, Androulakis promised his supporters for the presidency that the renewal he would do when he was elected would be “the oxygen of politics”. The rental of the hall for the event had also been included in the expenses for Androulaki’s activity as an MEP.
On November 9, 2017, in the second round of the internal party contest, Androulakis spoke at the Astir Hotel in Patras. On that day, he charged 400 euros for conference room rental with the note “Conf hall Gimnastiki”. Our research could not locate such an event hall in Patras where Androulakis spoke. As they assured us from the Astir hotel, they never had such a room.
During the disputed period of N. Androulakis’ claim to the presidency of the party, various advertisements on social media labeled “Promoting Innovation” and “Social Investment” were registered as expenses.
And a European event in the summer in Rhodes
However, N. Androulakis also held an event of European interest, indeed using the S&D brands in Rhodes. At least this is what he informed via social media himself, writing under a photo that shows him speaking at the Mediterranean Hotel in Rhodes with the Eurosocialist logo in the background: “Thank you very much friends for the hospitality in Rhodes and the fruitful exchange of views on issues that concerning the European Union #sdiscussion”. The budget included accommodation, food and travel expenses for several associates of Androulakis, who arrive in mid-July, i.e. high season, in Rhodes.
The wretchedness against the Documento in Parliament
Documento addressed the president of PASOK-KINAL asking him to answer in writing the question of whether he has used money allocated by the European Parliament for actions strictly related to parliamentary work in order to finance his intra-party pre-election campaign. These questions were sent at noon last Thursday. A few hours later, N. Androulakis speaking in the Parliament on another issue (the draft law for same-sex couples) launched a fierce attack against the writer and Documento, trying to show that the explanations that the newspaper has been asking for for a long time about the wiretapping and him it is an operation against him. Instead of a substantive answer, Androulakis resorted to a cheap attempt to incriminate Documento, so he can claim that “it’s all slander against him from a publication that beats him”. Fortunately, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has used the same method, unsuccessfully.
Read also – Kombina Androulakis with European funds: PASOK does not answer for the snuff box and targets Vaxevani and Documento again
PASOK does not answer for the snuff box and targets Vaxevani and Documento again
Documento had informed PASOK on Thursday, February 15, 2024, two days before the text was published in the newspaper regarding the fact that the list of the European Socialist Party’s budget shows Nikos Androulakis as having deposited expenses in October 2017, which concern no in the European Parliament capacity and its functioning but in expenses related to the then intra-party battle in Greece for the PASOK/KINAL presidency. Documento asked him to comment on this matter and answer the following questions:
- Does an ethical issue arise in the sense that funds of the Eurosocialists (in any case, they are funds of the European Union) were used for the then claim of the PASOK-KINAL presidency against Fofi Gennimata?
- Is there also a question of distorted use of European funds?
He has been doing the same ever since. He does not respond to the substance but continues to target the publisher Kostas Vaxevanis and Documento. It is indicative that on Thursday, having been informed about the matter, he chose to attack Kostas Vaxevanis, from the floor of the Parliament, on the same day, in the context of his speech in the plenary session.
The same tactic is followed by PASOK-KINAL in its announcement regarding the report published on Sunday.
It remains to be seen what will happen when the case is taken over by OLAF, the competent agency of the European Commission against issues of fraud against the EU budget, corruption and misconduct in the European institutions. It is an important matter that there are evidences that demonstrate that European funds were not directed for intended purposes but were used for an election campaign in an intra-party battle for the presidency of PASOK-KINAL in 2017.
The announcement issued by the press office of PASOK-KINAL at noon on Sunday regarding the publication of the Documento newspaper is as follows:
“Mr. Vaxevanis persistently continues the attempt to hurt PASOK in every unfair way, for reasons that anyone can understand.
We all remember his comic-tragic legal analyzes about how it is one thing to sue and another to report an ex officio crime, trying to promote his narrative that the President of PASOK has not taken legal action against the wiretapping gang, when he knows too much good that he has exhausted all legal remedies in the Greek Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, while the other political goals “do not bother her”. In fact, he reached the point – in impressive harmony with the New Democracy trolls – of repeating exactly the statements of Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, in exactly the same spirit.
We also remember his imaginative front page from months ago, with which he tried to connect the President of PASOK with the Chinese company Huawei, adopting Maximos’ story about relations with China to justify his illegal monitoring by the EYP.
His latest journalistic “bombshell” concerns invoices worth 1,800 euros, registered to the Socialist Group in 2017.
All expenses, to which Documento’s publication refers, are scrutinized before they are paid, but also afterwards, by the European Parliament, the European Court of Auditors and private auditing companies, designated for this purpose. The expenses, to which it refers, have been fully checked and deemed to be in full compliance with the rules of the European Parliament.
We are not surprised by these atrocities. After all, Mr. Vaxevanis has a tradition with the Presidents of PASOK. With the slanderous attacks both against the late Fofi Gennimata for alleged participation in the Borgians list and earlier against George Papandreou and Evangelos Venizelos.
No matter how hard he tries, he is not going to prevent what is required in the European elections.”
#Androulakis #election #campaign #money
