By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:33 AM on 9th July 2011
The University of Northampton has been fined more than ?56,000 - just because it didn't display the EU flag.
It was revealed in Parliament that the university was fined ?56,477 for not displaying the European logo on a board outside the college building.
The fine was imposed by European officials because money from the European Regional Development Fund had been used to fund new facilities inside the Newton Building.
Fined: The University of Northampton has been fined more than ?56,000
Conservative MP for Northampton North, Michael Ellis, said the money should be paid back to the university immediately
The punishment has been labelled 'astronomical' by the Conservative MP for Northampton North, Michael Ellis, who said the money should be paid back to the university immediately.
He said: ‘It's outrageous. These European dictocrats shouldn't be worrying about their egos or wasting taxpayer's money on investigating these matters.
‘This is British taxpayer's money being wasted on absurd self-publicity. There's not an ounce of common sense being used here.’
Northampton-based Euro MP, Derek Clark, has also pledged to bring up the issue of the university's fine in the European Parliament.
The UKIP politician said: ‘This whole thing is an absolute disgrace and an awful thing to do to a university. These European officials insist on having flags put up to tell people how wonderful they are, but they're nothing of the sort.’
The University of Northampton's Vice Chancellor, Professor Nick Petford released a statement saying: 'Clearly we are unhappy with this state of affairs, but the process regarding this European funding for The University is Northampton is currently under review.'
The university was one of eight organisations in Britain to be fined for failing to follow European rules on publicity since 2007.
It has emerged that fines relating to cash given by the European Regional Development Fund since 2000 have reached almost half a million pounds
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is a fund allocated by the European Union and those who receive grants are obliged display the EU flag or logo.
If the flag or EU logo is not displayed, the institution can be fined for technical publicity breaches for failing to credit the fund.
Other groups included Liverpool-based transport authority, Merseytravel, which was fined for 'insufficient publicity' and Doncaster Council, which was fined for not mentioning European funding in a radio advert.
The University of Northampton has confirmed it received ?2.5 million in European funding for its 'NVision' project, a high-tech 3D visualisation centre which allows businesses to design and develop products in 3D.
A spokesman for the university said: ‘Without the support of the European funding, the project would not have been possible and we appreciate their continued support.’
When he announced the European fines in Parliament, local government minister, Bob Neill, said he would push Europe to 'sweep away' any such penalties in the future.
The news comes after it was revealed yesterday that two west Midlands groups were fined over ?25,000 in total for the same crime.
Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce were both ordered to hand back grant money for failing to put the EU logo - a circle of stars on a blue background - on brochures and publicity material.
A spokesman for the European Commission said: 'The European Commission, as co-funder or co-investor in projects in all Member States, including many in the United Kingdom does not impose fines or asks for money to be paid back to Brussels because no EU-flag is flown over these projects.
'In the contract rules, agreed between the European Commission and the UK authorities, it is stated that a mention should be made of the European Regional Development Fund as a co-funder or co-investor, just as this is the case for many investors in projects.
'For most projects, those under a total value of approximately ?465,000, a mention on a website or in a leaflet suffice.
'If this is not done, then the UK authorities make a correction for a small percentage, but that money remains available for other projects in the United Kingdom and or the same region, so no taxpayer's money is lost.'
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