Brussels, 27/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - At the start of next week, the European Commission is expected to publish its 2003 annual report on combating fraud. 2003 was characterised by an improvement in the situation regarding structural activity - the number of cases notified by Member States fell from 4656 in 2002 (see Europe of 19 July 2003 on the details of the 2002 report) to 2487 in 2003, and the sums involved also slumped, from EUR 614 million in 2002 to EUR 482 million in 2003.
The number of cases of fraud and irregularities in the area of traditional own resources rose slightly in 2003 (to 2453, compared with 2335 in 2002), but the sums involved fell from EUR 341 million in 2002 to EUR 269 million in 2003. Member States notified 3237 cases of fraud with respect to farm spending in 2003, as opposed to 3285 in 2002, for a total of EUR 169 million in 2003 (EUR 198 million in 2002). For farming, 1489 cases were notified regarding direct aid (for a total of EUR 26 million), 528 for export refunds (EUR 18 million), 585 for market support (EUR 117 million) and 635 other cases (EUR 8 million).