Press Release: Fighting fraud: Fall in suspected fraud against EU funds

Fraud affecting the EU budget fell by 35% in 2011, according to the Commission's annual report on the "Protection of the EU's Financial Interests". In cohesion policy, there were 41% fewer cases of suspected fraud compared to 2010, while in agriculture reported fraud cases fell by 66%. In addition to stronger measures and better controls implemented for EU funding, there are also a number of technical explanations for the drop in fraud rate in 2011.

The closure of a programming period in cohesion policy and more stabilised reporting in the new control system for agriculture also contributed to lower reported fraud than in 2010. In total, €295 million in EU funds were affected by fraud, or 0.2% of the budget, which must be recovered in line with EU rules. In its report, the Commission underlines the need to further reduce fraud affecting the EU budget, and makes a number of recommendations to Member States which could help achieve this.

ESO: Background Information: Anti-fraud chief: Countries under-report EU funds scams http://www.europeansources.info/record/anti-fraud-chief-countries-under-report-eu-funds-scams/

European Commission: Memo/12/577: Questions and Answers: The protection of EU financial interests and the fight against fraud http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/577&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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