92001E3040

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3040/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 October 2001)

Subject: Total of repayments required of Greece under the EAGGF

What is the total amount of the corrections (repayments) required of Greece for each of the last four years under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Guarantee Section, and for what reasons?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(19 December 2001)

A table is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat setting out details of the corrections applied to Greece in the years 1997 to 2000 in the framework of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF). Definitive figures for the financial year 2001 are not presently available.

The corrections fall into two categories:

- Definitive corrections, such as those relating to the financial consequences of the clearance of accounts decisions which arise as a result of weaknesses in the Member States control systems leading to a financial risk to the Fund.

- Corrections under Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2040/2000 of 26 September 2000 on budgetary discipline(1), which are provisional in nature and subject to confirmation in the framework of the Decisions on the clearance of accounts referred to under point 1 above.

Such corrections include three significant areas:

- Reductions for failure to apply the integrated management and control system within the statutory deadlines.

- Reductions for failure to collect the total supplementary milk levy due within the statutory deadlines. Amounts collected by the Member State after the deadline and declared to the EAGGF are refunded.

- Reductions for non respect of deadlines set down in the Regulations for payments to beneficiaries.

(1) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000.