Brussels, 19/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 March, the European Commission called on nine member states to pay back a total of €126.7 million in money incorrectly spent under the common agricultural policy (CAP). This money will be returned to the Community budget.
The most significant individual corrections are: €100.6 million charged to Denmark for weaknesses in remote sensing and controls of compliance with set-aside rules (in area aid scheme); €9.5 million charged to the United Kingdom for risk analysis used improperly and insufficient verification of documents within export refunds aid scheme; €7.2 million charged to Belgium for insufficient number of laboratory tests of sugar within export refunds scheme; €2.4 million charged to Ireland for weaknesses in risk analysis, insufficient quality and quantity of physical checks within export refunds scheme; €2.3 million charged to France for failure to meet payment deadlines and absence of sanctions within food aid scheme; €1.7 million charged to Belgium for ineligible expenditure in fruit and vegetable scheme comprising environmental packaging and VAT; €1.5 million charged to Slovenia for deficiencies in key-controls concerning area aid payments; €1.3 million charged to Greece for insufficient controls and unreliable data on sugar export. (L.C./transl.rt)