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BUCHAREST - ROMANIA - The EU funds scandal that Labour Minister Ioan Botiş is involved in could affect EU funding, at least for the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (POSDRU), 4.5 billion euros). The scandal broke out Monday evening after the minister admitted in a televised programme that his wife was working with an NGO in Bistriţa registered in his home, which develops a programme declared eligible for funding (500,000 euros) through POSDRU - a programme managed by the Labour Ministry, the institution he runs. Prime Minister Emil Boc said Botiş will submit his resignation if the National Integrity Agency (ANI), which has started an investigation, concludes there is a conflict of interest. The Department of Anti-Fraud Fight (DLAF), which also opened an investigation, said in a release that in the case of the minister, there are clues that would suggest national and EU legislation on the conflict of interest may have been infringed upon. (source Z.F.)