Brussels, 12/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of Commissioners Viviane Reding (Justice) and Algirdas Semeta (Taxation and Anti-fraud), the European Commission presented a draft directive on 11 July creating a harmonised framework for prosecuting and punishing crimes involving the EU budget and making it easier to recover lost funds. To prevent criminals exploiting differences between national legal systems and to ensure the rules are applied uniformly across the EU, the new directive will harmonise: - definitions of offences, such as fraud, misappropriation of funds, money laundering or obstruction of public procurement procedures, which at present vary widely from one member state to another; - periods within which it is possible to investigate and prosecute offences (i.e. statutes of limitation), which currently vary from one to 12 years, depending on the member state; - minimum sentencing of between six months and five years in prison for serious fraud and misappropriation of European funds, when currently sanctions vary among states between no compulsory sentence to 12 years' imprisonment. More than 90% of the EU budget is managed nationally. In 2010, there were a total of 600 suspected fraud cases involving EU expenditure and revenue. Member states reported suspected cases of fraud amounting to €600 million, the Commission points out. (FG/transl.rt)