In Italy a concert by Elton John was paid for by EU subsidies

In Italy was set on fire a huge scandal involving the misuse of EU subsidies. On Friday, November 19, 2010 the European Union sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance of Italy and the administration of the Campania region, demanding to pay 720.000 euros from 2.25 million euros, which were sent to the Campania region for regional development. According to the European Commission, 720.000 euros were spent by the government of Campania to organize a concert by Elton John.

The EU notes that the funding of the Campania region was provided in the form of long-term investments, which were designed to promote opportunities for tourism in the region. Wall Street Journal reports that according to the EU, a loud concert of the world star is no way to tell the world about the possibilities of the Campania region.

Campania today is one of the poorest regions of Italy. In addition, the largest city of the region - Naples - is considered to be the capital of "Camorra", a powerful mafia group.

The EU is currently conducting a large-scale investigation on the spending of funds in Campania. As part of the investigation, the EU asked for comments representatives of Elton John. However, the singer's response has not been yet received.

The initiator of the investigation was Mario Borghesio, the representative of Italy in the European Parliament from the Northern League party. He called organizing of the concert for EU funds, earmarked for development, "shameful and criminal."

It is worth noting that cultural activities fit into the goals, under which the EU provides funding to the regions. However, in this case, the EU was shoked by the format of the event. Elton John, according to representatives of the EU, does not disclose the unique features of the Campania and is not a unique cultural event.

It is worth noting that the investigation of misuse of EU funds has touched not only Italy. Among those who have squandered the funds of the Union for other purposes are Slovakia and Hungary.

Specificity of the EU grants for regional development does not provide for a mandatory report on ways of funding if the grant amount does not exceed 50 million euros.