Activities of Julia PITERA related to 2016/2097(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Annual report 2015 on the protection of EU's financial interests - Fight against fraud (debate) PL
Annual report 2015 on the protection of EU's financial interests - Fight against fraud (debate) PL
Reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report 2015 on the protection of the EU’s financial interests – Fight against fraud PDF (594 KB) DOC (85 KB)
Amendments (29)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. Wwhereas the VAT gap amounts to approximately 159.5 billion EUR in 2014 and varies from less than 5% to over 40% depending on the country considered;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas fraud is an example of purposeful wrongdoing and is a criminal offence, and that an irregularity is a failure to comply with a rule;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas fluctuation in number of irregularities can be linked to the progression of the multiannual programming cycles (with higher levels of detection at the end of cycles due to the closure of programmes) as well as to late reporting by certain Member States which tend to report most of the irregularities of previous multiannual programmes at once;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is alarmedNotes that the number of all fraudulent and non-fraudulent irregularities reported (22 349 cases)in 2015 increased significantly for a second consecutive year – first by 48 % in 2014 and then by another 36% in 2015, leading to doubling the amount of registered irregularities within just two yearby 36% amounting to 22 349 cases; notes that even though the number of irregularities doublconsiderably increased, the sum involved in them (EUR 3.21 billion) remains on the same level as in 2014; calls on the Commission to analyse this development;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned that despite the positive drop of 11% of fraudulent irregularities from 1,649 in 2014 to 1,461 in 2015, the sums involved increased 18% from 538 million EUR in 2014 to 637.6 million EUR in 2015; notes that false or falsified documents and declarations constituted the most common types of fraud amounting to 34%, while the largest proportion of irregularities reported as fraudulent (52 %) was detected in the agricultural sector, and the highest percentage of detection of all fraudulent irregularities (75%) was made by the administrative control systems provided for by sector-specific regulations;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the Commission package of four delegated and four implementing regulations on the reporting of irregularity provisions in the area of shared management which aims to improve the quality and consistency of the information on irregularities and fraud reported by the Member States; regrets that those regulations do not regulate timelines in which Members States would be obliged to report the irregularities; deplores the fact that in 2015, 537 out of 538 irregularities reported by Ireland were related to the historic reporting program from 2000- 2006 and 5105 out of 5619 irregularities reported by Spain related to irregularities from the cohesion policy sector detected throughout the whole period 2007-2013 and which were all reported together in 2015; stresses that late reporting impairs accurate assessment of fraudulent and non-fraudulent irregularities in the Member States;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2015/1525 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 which has improved the current framework for detecting and investigating customs fraud at EU and national level;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that customs controls carried out at the time of clearance of goods and inspections by anti-fraud services were the most successful methods of detecting fraudulent cases in the revenue sector in 2015;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Expresses deep concern that a decrease in customs staff can negatively influence the number of controls and therefore have a negative impact on the detection of fraudulent actions in the revenue sector of the EU;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that the Commission does not have access to the information exchanged between Member States with a view to preventing and combating Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud; is of the opinion that the Commission should have access to Eurofisc, in order to better control, assess and improve the exchange of data among Member States; calls on all the Member States to participate in all of Eurofisc’'s fields of activity so as to facilitate the exchange of information; with the aim of helping to combat fraudjudicial and law enforcement authorities such as Europol and OLAF, as recommended by the Court of Auditors;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Takes positive note of the successful outcomes of numerous joint customs operations (JCOs) involving the cooperation of OLAF and Member States with various third-country services, which have resulted in the seizure of, inter alia, 16 million sticks of cigarettes and 2 tonnes of cannabis; notes that operation Baltica, led by Polish customs authorities in cooperation with OLAF, Europol and five Member States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden), seized 13 million sticks of cigarettes coming from third countries such as Belarus and Russia;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. DeploresIs deeply concerned that the amount of irregularities reported in the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and in the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is growing annually for at least 5 consecutive years with the amount of reported cases growing up from 1970 cases in 2011 to 4612 cases in 2015 with the sums involved growing from EUR 119 million in 2012 to EUR 394 million in 2015 with the level of reported irregularities of the EAFRD coming close to 2% of the entire fund; urges the Member States with the highest amount of irregularities reported – Romania, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Portugal and Lithuania – to do their utmost in order to regulate the situationurgently and efficiently regulate the situation in order to reverse this trend;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Supports the Commission in its approach to recommend strengthening the work of the Member States, which continue to report a very low number of fraudulent irregularities, in relation to detecting and/or reporting fraud (Austria, Belgium, France, Lithuania, Malta, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), in particular, those which have not reported any case over the last five years: Slovakia and Finland in the area of agriculture and Denmark and Luxembourg in the area of cohesion policy;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)
Subheading 6 a (new)
Protection of EU currency
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Welcomes the fact that Directive 2014/62/EU came into force in 2014 ordering that acts intentionally committed i.e. counterfeiting or altering money, putting them into circulation but also abetting, aiding and attempting to do so are considered as a crime; deplores the fact that Belgium, France and Ireland did not yet transpose the Directive within the prescribed period, i.e. until 23rd May 2016;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 b (new)
Paragraph 32 b (new)
32b. Notes that according to the European Central Bank, since the introduction of the euro in 2002 counterfeit currency caused financial losses amounting to at least 500 million euros in the EU economy until 2016;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to submit urgently a legislative proposal on the protection of whistle-blowers in order to effectively prevent and combat fraud affecting the financial interests of the European Union;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Deplores that the Commission did not keep its word to publish an EU Anti- Corruption reports biannually, as there has been no report published in 2016e fact that the second anti-corruption report has not been published in 2016, which impaired the assessment of the scale of corruption in 2015; finds unconvincing the argument of the Vice President of the European Commission in the letter dated January 25 2017 that operational activities to share experience and best practices among Member States are a more efficient way to combat corruption then reports such as the first anti-corruption report;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Urges the Commission to publish the second anti-corruption report and present these reports regularly to inform the public about the achievements in the fight against corruption, inter alia in the context of the Anti-corruption Sharing Program;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Welcomes breaking the deadlock in the Council regardingthe successfully concluded negotiations on the proposal on the Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union’'s financial interests by means of criminal law (PIF Directive) with a VAT fraud included in its scope; expresses hope for a swift conclusion of the PIF directive negotiations and looks forward to obtaining an agreement that will be beneficial for the financial interests of the Unnotes that the Directive defines the types of fraudulent behaviour to be criminalised and provides a definition of corruption;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Recalls Parliament’s' resolution on EPPO adopted on 5th of October 2016f 5 October 2016 on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and Eurojust reaffirming Parliament's longstanding support for the establishment of an efficient and independent European Public Prosecutor's Office in order to reduce the current fragmentation of national law enforcement efforts to protect the EU budget; believes that an efficient EPPO will strengthen the fight against fraud in the EU provided that it is given the necessary legal provisions and is able to work efficiently with other existing EU bodies and Member State authorities;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Recalls Parliament’s resolution on EPPO adopted on 5th of October 2016; believes that an efficient EPPO will strengthen the fight against fraud in the EU provided that it is given the necessary legal provisions and is able to work efficiently with other existing EU bodies and Member State authorities; notes that the scope of the PIF directive determines directly the scope of the EPPO's mandate; notes with concern the diverging opinions in the Council on the EPPO as it is foreseen in the Treaty of Lisbon; sees its provisions not implemented through enhanced cooperation;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Points out the decision of the European Commission not to renew the PMI agreement which expired on July 9th 2016; reminds that on March 9th 2016 the EP asked the Commission not to renew, extend or renegotiate it beyond its date of expiry; believes that the 3 other agreements (BAT, JTI, ITL) should not be renewed;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Calls on OLAF to compare in its Annual Activities Reports OLAFs recommendations for financial recoveries with the amounts, which were factually recovered;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Calls for the Commission to clarify the main reasons that Member States are not following up alleged cases of fraud affecting the EU’s financial interests, as submitted to them by OLAFWelcomes OLAF's analysis of Member States' follow up OLAF's judicial recommendations issued between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2015 as an overview of the main reasons concerning non follow-up of OLAF's recommendations; however notes that the data collected in the document concerns only judicial recommendations without taking into consideration administrative, disciplinary and financial recommendations and so is not representative of the overall follow-up of OLAF's recommendations;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41a. Regrets the fact that almost one third (94 out of 317) of OLAF's judicial recommendations issued between 2008 and 2015 addressed to the competent authorities were dismissed on the basis of insufficient evidence; calls on the Commission to assess how administrative investigations could be better used in judicial cases; encourages the competent authorities of Member States to provide detailed information regarding reasons for dismissals, in order for OLAF to better adjust their recommendations to national laws;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 b (new)
Paragraph 41 b (new)
41b. urges the Commission in view of the ending mandate of the OLAF Director General to start immediately the procedure for a call of proposals for a new Director General and to start the consultation process with the European Parliament;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 b (new)
Paragraph 41 b (new)
41b. Deplores the fact that judicial authorities of some of Member States consider OLAF's recommendations related to the misspending of EU money as a low priority; recalls that according to Art. 325 (2) TFEU Member States shall take the same measures to counter fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union as they take to counter fraud affecting their own financial interests;