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European Commission - Press release Commission to recover € 214 million of CAP expenditure from the Member States Brussels, 14 October 2011 - A total of € 214 million of EU agricultural policy funds unduly spent by Member States is being claimed back by the European Commission today under the so-called clearance of accounts procedure. This money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure. Member States are responsible for paying out and checking expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Commission is required to ensure that Member States have made correct use of the funds. Main financial corrections Under this latest decision, funds will be recovered from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The most significant individual corrections are: € 76.6 million charged to Sweden for the weaknesses in the Land Parcel Identification System – Geographical Information System (LPIS-GIS), administrative controls and sanctions for area-aids expenditures, including area-based Rural Development measures; € 70.9 million charged to Italy with regard to the late controls in the sector of milk; € 22.3 million charged to Denmark for the weaknesses in LPIS-GIS, in the on-the-spot checks and in the calculation of sanctions;
Details of the individual corrections, by Member State and by sector, are given in the tables attached (annexes I and II). Background Member States are responsible for managing most CAP payments, mainly via their paying agencies. They are also in charge of controls, for example verifying the farmer's claims for direct payments. The Commission carries out over 100 audits every year, verifying that Member State controls and responses to shortcomings are sufficient, and has the power to claw back funds in arrears if the audits show that Member State responses are not good enough to guarantee that EU funds have been spent properly. For more information For details on how the clearance of annual accounts system works, see MEMO/06/178 and the factsheet "Managing the agriculture budget wisely", available on the internet at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/fin/clearance/factsheet_en.pdf . Annex I: Clearance of accounts of EAGF and EAFRD Decision 35: corrections by Member state Sector and reason for correction | Amount in million EUR | Austria | | Other corrections – correction proposed for overshooting of financial ceilings for the financial year 2006 | 1.304 | Cyprus | | Area aid - correction proposed for poor LPIS and deficiencies in on-the-spot controls in respect of financial years 2006-2008 for area-aids expenditure, including area-based Rural Development measures | 9.086 | Area aid - correction proposed for the financial year 2009 with regard to the weaknesses in the LPIS-GIS | 1.659 | Denmark | | Area aid - correction proposed for financial years 2006 and 2007 for the weaknesses in LPIS-GIS and in the one-the-spot checks | 20.296 | Area aid - correction proposed for financial years 2006-2010 with regard to the deficiencies in controls on the farmer status | 1.545 | Late payments – correction proposed for the financial year 2008 for the non-compliance with the payment deadlines and exceeding the financial ceiling | 0.331 | Finland | | Area aid - correction proposed for financial years 2007-2009 for the weaknesses in LPIS-GIS | 0.462 | Area aid - correction proposed for financial years 2007-2010 with regard to the deficiencies in activation of entitlements on vegetable gardens, non-recovery of undue payments and overpayments linked to reference amounts for sugar beet production | 0.529 | Germany | | Fruit and vegetables – correction proposed for the financial year 2008 for ineligible expenditures in 3 producer organisations due to the weaknesses in the control system concerning the recognition of producer organisations | 0.847 | Other corrections – correction proposed for materiality breach in respect of the EAGF IACS population in the financial year 2008 | 0.949 | Other corrections – correction proposed for materiality breach in respect of the EAGF non-IACS population in the financial year 2008 | 0.697 | Greece | | Wine - correction proposed for the financial years 2004-2005 with regard to the weaknesses in key controls, deficiencies in establishment and access to vineyard register | 2.918 | Area aid - correction proposed for the financial year 2007 for deficiencies in calculation of entitlements | 6.827 | Italy | | Milk Products - correction proposed for the financial years 2005-2007 for late controls | 70.912 | Area aid – correction proposed for deficiencies in LPIS and in the calculation of sanctions in respect of the financial year 2008 for area-aids expenditure, including area-based Rural Development measures | 7.607 | Other corrections – correction proposed for an amount declared in the annual accounts of 2005 and not paid in the financial year 2005 | 0.067 | Sector and reason for correction | Amount in million EUR | Malta | | Area aid – correction proposed for deficiencies in LPIS in respect of the financial year 2007 for area-aids expenditure, including area-based Rural Development measures | 0.222 | Other corrections – correction proposed for irregularities and debts in the financial year 2007 | 0.039 | The Netherlands | | Area aid – correction proposed for financial years 2007-2010 for overshooting of national ceiling and deficiencies in the calculation of entitlements | 2.243 | Poland | | Rural Development – correction proposed for financial years 2005-2007 for the lack of the environmental impact assessment in projects below 20ha in the field of afforestation | 0.201 | Other corrections – correction proposed with regard to the Most Likely Error | 0.454 | Portugal | | Fruit and vegetables – correction proposed for financial years 2007 and 2008 with regard to the deficiencies in checking the processing yield in the tomato processing | 0.678 | Rural Development – correction proposed for financial years 2006-2007 with regard to the deficiencies in the scope of the on-the-spot checks in Agri-environment measures and Less-favoured areas measure and late application of the sanction system | 0.656 | Other corrections – correction proposed for financial errors in EAGF and EAFRD population in the financial year 2007 | 0.401 | Spain | | Other corrections – correction proposed for material and known errors in the accounts and debtors | 0.571 | Sweden | | Area aid – correction proposed for financial years 2006-2008 with regard to the weaknesses in LPIS-GIS, administrative controls and sanctions (also relates to area-based Rural Development measures) | 76.616 | The United Kingdom | | Area aid – correction proposed for financial years 2006-2008 with regard to the deficiencies in control, incorrect allocation of entitlements and overshooting of the regional ceilings | 5.970 |
Annex II: Clearance of accounts of EAGF and EAFRD Decision 35: Corrections by Sector | In Million € | Fruit & vegetables | 1.524 | | | Milk Products | 70.912 | | | Wine | 2.918 | | | Area Aid | 125.804 | | | Rural Development | 9.486 | | | Late payments | 0.331 | | | Other corrections | 3.109 |
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