PARIS (AP) — A report released by the Council of Europe on Friday accuses the World Health Organisation and European governments of vastly exaggerating the public health risks of swine flu and making secretive decisions that benefited pharmaceutical companies.

WHO, the UN health agency, has said those who claim swine flu was a fake pandemic created for the benefit of drug companies are irresponsible.

A report by the health committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a 47-member human rights watchdog, says the public health guidelines by WHO, EU agencies and national governments led to a "waste of large sums of public money and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks faced by the European public."

The report was made public on Friday. Legislators from all 47 members of the Council of Europe will debate the report June 24. The Council of Europe is not a European Union body and has no power over WHO.

The committee said decisions about the outbreak were poorly explained and not transparent enough. It warned that public trust in WHO recommendations is "plummeting," which could be dangerous in case of a more severe pandemic in the future. The committee also suggested that drug makers contribute to a public fund to support independent research.