IP/06/551
Brussels, 28 April 2006
Commission to recover € 128.2 million of CAP expenditure from the Member States A total of € 128.2 million of EU farm money unduly spent by Member States is to be claimed back, following a decision adopted by the European Commission. The money will be recovered because of inadequate control procedures or non-compliance with EU rules 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, Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “This is a crucial process in ensuring that CAP money is used properly and that all unduly spent amounts are recovered. We have made enormous progress over recent years in improving controls and I am determined that these efforts will continue in the future”
Main financial corrections
Under this latest decision, the 21st since the 1995 reform of the system for recovering unduly spent CAP money, funds will be recovered from Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The most significant individual corrections are:
€ 32.07 million charged to France for non-compliance with producers’ organisations recognition criteria, inadequate quantity and quality controls, over-estimated aid and non-application of sanctions for compensatory aid for bananas. € 30.02 million charged to Italy for non-application of penalties and inadequate checks on products withdrawn in the fruits and vegetables sector € 30.94 million charged to Italy for non-compliance with payment deadlines in various sectors.
For details on how the clearance of annual accounts system works, see MEMO/06/178.
Full details of the recoveries for the latest decision, by Member State and by sector are given in the tables attached (annexes I and II).
Annex I
Clearance of accounts of EAGGF – Guarantee section
Decision 21: Corrections by Member state
Amount in million EURO Belgium Milk products: Control deficiencies 5.85 Germany Milk products: non-respect of obligation of unannounced controls 0.40 Greece Fruit & Vegetables: Repayment following Court's annulment of Decision 2002/881 in Case C-5/03 -0.62 Public storage: Repayment following Court's annulment of Decision 2003/102 in Case C-175/03 -9.93 Irregularities: Repayment following Court's annulment of Decision 2003/481 in Case C-370/03 -0.04 Spain Public Storage: control deficiencies 2.76 Animal premium: premium paid to farmers not having the minimum quota rights 0.08 Rural development: various shortcomings in the management and control system 0.14 Financial audit: Repayment following Court's annulment of Decision 2002/461 in Case C-287/02 -0.45 Finland Milk products: Control weakness 0.05 Financial audit: Overshooting of financial ceilings 0.01 France Fruit & Vegetables: Aid over-estimated, non-application of sanctions, shortcomings in key checks 32.07 Public Storage: control deficiencies 7.14 Rural development: incorrect verification of an eligibility condition 0.87 Italy Fruit & Vegetables: Non-application of sanctions, deficiencies in controls on products withdrawn 30.02 Fruit & Vegetables: non-respect of payment deadlines 4.41 Fruit & Vegetables: shortcomings in key checks 7.71 Milk products: Non-respect of regulations, control deficiencies, non-conformity with minimum rate of control 0.3 Arable crops: Failure to apply sanctions 7.98 Arable crops: Poor quality of classical field inspections 0.60 Rural development: weaknesses in the management, control and sanctions system 3.75 Financial audit: non-compliance with payment deadlines 30.94 Netherlands Milk products: Unsatisfactory sampling procedure, incorrect treatment of control results 0.16 Portugal Flax: inadequate control system to prevent irregular practices 3.14 Sweden Arable crops: shortcomings in the application of rules regarding set-aside, incorrect application of technical tolerances 0.14 United Kingdom Financial audit: unidentified corrections credited to EAGGF 0.72 TOTAL 128.2 Annex II
Clearance of accounts of EAGGF – Guarantee section
Decision 21: Corrections by Sector
In Mio. € Animal premium 0.08 Arable crops 8.72 Financial audit 31.22 Flax 3.14 Fruit & vegetables 73.59 Intervention storage -0.03 Irregularities -0.04 Milk and milk products 6.76 Rural development 4.76 TOTAL 128.2 
