Brussels, 22/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 March, the European Commission adopted a proposal aimed at amending certain provisions of the 2005 regulation on the financing of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to take into account new requirements regarding the publication of information on the beneficiaries of Community funding, and to improve the procedure for the reduction or suspension of payments as a penalty for fraud to the detriment of the EU budget.
Information on CAP beneficiaries: From 2009 on, under the provisions of the new financial regulation of December 2006, in line with the strategy for enhancing transparency, it is an obligation for member states to publish information on the beneficiaries of rural development programmes. In order to implement this obligation, it is necessary to modify the Council regulation on the financing of the CAP. The proposal specifies that member states must ensure annual ex post publication of the list of beneficiaries of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
The Commission suggests setting up a new mechanism conferring on the Commission the ability to reduce or suspend payments, according to specific conditions: - when the Commission has already twice imposed two financial corrections in respect of the same measure and for the same reason; - when one or more key components of the control system in question do not exist or are not effective; - and when the projection of the Commission is such that the member state concerned has failed to implement the Commission's recommendation to remedy the situation. Also, the proposal amends the regulation in a way that will ensure the Commission has a reasonable amount of time in which to verify whether the member states have complied with their control obligations. (lc)