Special Report No 23/2014: Errors in rural development spending: what are the causes, and how are they being addressed?

Abstract:

The Court of Auditors estimated that the average error rate for rural development expenditure in the past 3 years was 8.2%. Member States’ control authorities did not detect the errors as checks are not exhaustive and are based on insufficient information. Some of the main causes of the errors are non-compliance with public procurement rules, suspected intentional infringements by private beneficiaries and non-compliance with farming commitments for area-related aid.

The Commission and the Member States are only partially effective in addressing the main causes of the high error rate for rural development. The Court makes a number of specific recommendations for taking corrective and preventive action to address the widespread weaknesses at EU level.

ECA: Press Release, 17.02.15: The complexity of rural development policy and Member States’ weak control systems are the chief causes of the high error rate in spending, say EU Auditors http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/INSR14_23/INSR14_23_EN.pdf

ECA: Special Report, No 23/2014: Errors in rural development spending: what are the causes, and how are they being addressed? [PDF] http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_23/SR14_23_EN.pdf

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)51: Replies of the Commission to the Special Report of the European Court of Auditors 'Errors in rural development spending: what are the causes, and how are they being addressed?' http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:051:FIN

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