A report released by the Council of Europe accuses the World Health Organization (WHO) of vastly exaggerating the public health risks of swine flu, leading EU agencies and national governments to waste large sums of public money and inspiring unjustified fears about the health dangers of the swine flu among the European public. The British Medical Journal, meanwhile, says that key experts behind the WHO recommendation to stockpile antiviral drugs had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture them, presenting a potential conflict of interest. The WHO maintains that it was never improperly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.