The president of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) rejects accusations of wrongdoing and thus sees no reason to resign.
Frank Engel was a guest on RTL Radio at midday on Wednesday after it had come out that a number of his own party members had denounced him to the public prosecutor due to an undisclosed salary he had received from the non-profit association ASBL CSV-Frëndeskrees.
In a letter released on Tuesday, members of the ASBL, including half a dozen CSV MPs, stated that the contract in question might potentially be seen as "fictitious employment".
On Wednesday morning, the leader of the CSV parliamentary group, Martine Hansen, stated that Engel "has put the party in an impossible position". In his interview, Engel rejected this accusation and accused those who denounced him, and then made this decision public, of bringing harm to the party.
As for the affair itself, Engel stated that he knew perfectly well what he did over the seven-month-period in question, even if "other people" now tried to convince him otherwise. The CSV president stressed that he "has nothing to apologise for" and has full confidence in the justice system.
Engel confirmed that he had drawn up the contract with the non-profit ASBL CSV-Frëndeskrees himself. However, he added that this in and of itself is not a criminal offence. Engel explained that it had been agreed upon that the non-profit ASBL CSV-Frëndeskrees was to become a foundation.
He was supposed to find potential contributors, and in the event that he would not be able to do that, it was agreed that he would pay the money back. According to Engel, this could thus by no means be considered a confession that he did not fulfil his side of the contract.
The former MEP acknowledged that the only mistake he may have made in this affair is to not have informed more people about the existence of the contract. However, this is once again not a criminal offence, he added. Engel also made it clear that he had no intention of convening a meeting of the CSV National Committee.
When asked if his candidacy for a second mandate as CSV president still stands, despite this affair, Engel replied that while he does not rule out the possibility, he is currently reconsidering his decision.
Engel had recently announced his re-election bid for the position of CSV president after he had sent an almost 20-page-long document to party members containing a sort of political programme.
Engel stated that to this day, there has not been a single reaction to this document. He concluded by saying that he thinks the party definitely had "more glorious times" in the past.
