Tainted former EC president Jacques Santer to raise money for EU bail-outs "Putting Jacques Santer in charge of fundraising is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank," said Martin Callanan, leader of the UK's Conservative MEPs. Santer's little helpers have dragged him out of retirement to give him another cushy EU job. Others raised their eyebrows at the appointment for different reasons. "I didn't even know he was still alive," said one surprised EU official. Although the 144-page report absolved all 20 commissioners of direct involvement in fraud, it said that their claims to be unaware of "undoubted instances of fraud and corruption" represented a serious admission of failure. The main criticism of Mr Santer was of his failure to impose order on the Commission, which administered what was then £65bn a year budget.