92001E2471

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2471/01

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 September 2001)

Subject: Fraud against the EU committed by Italians

The Commission grants substantial Community contributions in various sectors and invariably has the task of carrying out checks and ascertaining any fraud committed by the recipients. Can it supply a list specifying the cases of fraud against the Community detected in Italy in the years 1998, 1999, and 2000, the amounts involved, and the percentages recovered to date?

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(2 October 2001)

The Commission would point out that a distinction should be made between direct management of Community funds and management shared with the Member States (indirect expenditure via the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF-Guarantee) and structural operations).

The Member States have prime responsibility for managing indirect expenditure, including prevention and prosecution of cases of irregularities and fraud and recovery of funds. Member States are required to notify the Commission of cases of irregularities. The Commission can be called on to take action in particular, to carry out checks or additional inquiries.

In Italy's case, recent annual reports by the Commission on the protection of the Communities' financial interests and the fight against fraud give an idea of the number and scale of irregularities as well as the level of recovery with regard to both the EAGGF-Guarantee and structural operations(1).

In the area of direct expenditure, for which the Commission is responsible, no statistics are available showing how many Italian nationals have been involved in irregularities and fraud and the percentage of the amounts recovered.

(1) COM(1999) 509 final; COM(2000) 718 final; (COM)2001) 255 final/2: See also the First OLAF report on operational activities (1 June 1999-31 May 2000): http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/reports/index_en.htm.