Prime Ministry inspectors to supervise EU

A legislative decree issued recently by the government has empowered the Prime Ministry’s Inspection Board to supervise how municipalities spend European Union funds, the CNN Türk news channel reported yesterday.

The board will inspect how financial assistance and donations are used and whether the content of tender bids comply with the law, the report said, adding that the board will have the authority not only to inspect but also to conduct investigations.The move followed accusations by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that municipalities held by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) funneled money to Kurdish militants by way of loan agreements with German foundations and development agencies. In a related development yesterday, the CHP central management board took a decision under which each CHP municipality will sue Erdoğan over his allegations of fraudulent loan dealings, the party’s deputy chair Birgül Ayman Güler said.