According to the Slovak authorities, significant differences in the estimates of the two auditors' reports raise doubts as to the credibility of both reports.

- Mr President, while any cod recovery plan would need first of all to incentivise those Member States and fishermen who contribute to a reduction in cod mortality, and also secondly to reduce by-catch and eliminate discards – eliminate, not reduce, discards – no cod recovery plan has any credibility unless it factors in the whole climate change point in relation to the cod feeding and breeding grounds, as so eloquently put on the record a few moments ago by my colleague, Mr Stevenson, and that must play a large part in any cod recovery plan if it is to have credibility in this day and age.

That does not rule out our common desire for the truth but, as I said to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs the evening before last, I clearly cannot cast doubt on the credibility of the legitimate and democratic governments of European Union countries and candidate countries without good evidence to the contrary.

We recognise that there are limitations and the issue will no doubt come back in a few years’ time.

It is the view of the European Union that this decision by the Niger authorities, casts serious doubts on the credibility of the election results.

One area where the report's credibility is badly stretched is its speculation that EDC's entry into domestic credit may have actually helped the credit insurance industry to grow, as it may have “increased awareness in Canada of the benefits of credit insurance”.