Commission to recover 346.5 million of CAP expenditure

A total of 346.5 million (305.2m) of EU farm money improperly spent by member states is being claimed back by the European Commission.  This includes 18.1m (15.9m) from the United Kingdom.  The money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure.

Member states are responsible for paying out and checking expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Commission is required to ensure that member states have made correct use of the funds.

Commenting on the decision, Dacian Ciolo?, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said: This exercise remains a very important instrument in making sure that Member States have sufficient controls in place to ensure that taxpayers’ money is properly spent.”

Main financial corrections

Under this latest decision, funds will be recovered from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden.

The most significant individual corrections are:

47.5 million (41.8m) charged to Spain for ineligible costs and for weaknesses in the control system in the fruit and vegetables sector;

92 million (81m) charged to Poland for various weaknesses in area aids for the years 2006-2007;

105.5 million (92.9m) charged to Greece for weaknesses in the control system for cotton and 18.5 million (16.3m) for rural development measures, for severe and persistent weaknesses in the IACS system;

14.2 million (12.5m) charged to United Kingdom for failure to meet the statutory deadlines for direct payments;

10.4 million (9.2m) – for financial years 2003-2005 – charged to the Netherlands for insufficient quantity of substitution checks performed in calendar years 2003 and 2004 in the sector of export refunds.