Brussels, 26/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - As part of the so-called clearance of accounts procedure, the European Commission on Tuesday 26 February called on the member states to return a total amount of €414 million corresponding to irregular expenditure made by them under the common agriculture policy (CAP). These funds will be paid back to the budget of the EU as they do not comply with EU rules or due to the inadequacy of control procedures on agricultural expenditure. From a formal point of view, as some of this money has already been recovered from the member states, the net financial impact of the decision will be around €393 million.
This decision provides for the recovery of funds from 22 member states: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The main individual corrections relate to the following amounts:
€111.7 million (net financial impact: €99.4 million) claimed back from the United Kingdom, due to shortcomings in the identification systems for agricultural parcels and geographical information systems (SIPA/SIG), in the handling of applications, administrative cross-checks and on-site checks carried out as regards area aid;
€48.3 million (net financial impact: €48.1 million) claimed back from Italy due to infringements in conditionality: several poorly checked SMRs (statutory management requirements), three undefined good environmental and agricultural conditions (GAECs) and regulatory requirements in terms of the incorrect application of sanctions;
€40.6 million claimed back from Spain due to gaps in the management and control of export refunds: inadequate ex ante checks on bovine meat, shortcomings in the execution of physical checks, inadequate checks on production and stocks of sugar, prior notification of physical checks to exporters;
€34.4 million claimed back from Poland due to problems in the management of the early retirement scheme in the framework of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD);
€29 million claimed back from France duty inadequacies in on-site checks for natural handicaps and agro-environmental measures in the framework of the EAFRD;
€17.9 million claimed back from Italy due to serious shortcomings in the system of checks and fraud in the citrus fruit processing sector. (LC/transl.fl)