[ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

– having regard to the Commission report of 17 July 2014 entitled ‘'Protection of the European Union’'s financial interests – Fight against fraud – 2013 Annual Report’' (COM(2014)0474) and the accompanying staff working documents (SWD(2014)0243, SWD(2014)0244, SWD(2014)0245, SWD(2014)0246, SWD(2014)0247 and SWD(2014)0248),

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Emphasises that it is incumbent on both the Commission and the Member States to do everything in their power to fight fraud, corruption and all other forms of illegal activity detrimental to the Union's financial interests, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; points out that close cooperation and coordination between the Commission and the Member States is essential in order to ensure that the Union's financial interests are protected effectively, and hence such cooperation and coordination must, as a matter of priority, be strengthened and made as effective as possible; points out that protecting the Union's financial interests demands an equally vigilant approach to both resources and expenditure;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the Commission report on the Protection of the European Union’'s financial interests – Fight against fraud – Annual Report 2013 (the Commission’'s ‘'annual report~~’), in which it outlined~~'); welcomes the broad range of legal and administrative measures taken by the Commission since 2011, thus shaping a new landscape for the further enhancement of the policy for protection of the financial interests of the Union;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Commission report on the Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – Fight against fraud – Annual Report 2013 (the Commission’s ‘annual report’), in which it outlined the broad range of legal and administrative measures taken by the Commission since 2011, thus shaping a new landscape for the further enhancement of the policy for protection of the financial interests of the Union; underlines that the current lack of results in the fight against fraud is not due to a lack of regulation but to a lack of implementation; asks the Commission to answer Parliaments demands in its previous annual PIF reports more timely in the following Commission report;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that although the overall financial impact of non-fraudulent irregularities reported in 2013 decreased to about EUR 1.84 billion, or 386 % less than in 2012, the number of such irregularities registered increased by 167 % on the previous year; notes, furthermore, that the number of fraudulent irregularities reported in 2013 increased by a full 30 % compared with 2012, while the financial impact thereof, involving EUR 309 million in EU funding, decreased by 21 %;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Not~~Welcomes that, ~~due~~thanks to the availability of new information as a result of the significant changes in the way Member States and the Commission report irregularities, the~~re has been a shift in~~ Commission increased its focus ion ~~the Commission’s 2013 annual report from irregularities treated in general terms to those reported as fraudulent; strongly urges the Commission, however, to further increase~~irregularities reported as fraudulent in its 2013 annual report; invites the Commission to maintain this approach in its future Annual Report on the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests – Fight against fraud while maintaining the availability of information and ~~enhance~~ analyses on the scope, types and impact of non-fraudulent irregularities in light of the significantly high number thereof and the related negative monetary impact, which adversely affects the financial interests of the EU;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. UIs concerned that in 2013 the recovery rate for fraud cases stands at 23,74% only, a figure below the average rate of 33.5% for the 2008-2012 period; points out that the recovery rate for irregularity cases reported for 2013 is 67,9%; underlines the responsibility of Member State authorities and the Commission’'s services towards recovering sums unduly paid and calls on them to properly assume this responsibility and substantially increase the recovery rate in cases of fraud, which is at a markedly low level compared to the recovery rate for non-fraudulent irregularities;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Notes that in a five year perspective, the recovery rate for irregularities reported as fraudulent is 54.4% and for non-fraudulent irregularities is 63.9%; urges the Commission to further improve the recovery process and to make it more timely;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Is concerned since recovery for the EAGF is below the overall average and not even half of the irregularities detected in 2009 were recovered at the end of 2013;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the fact that 98 % of TORs are collected without significant problems, with reported fraudulent irregularities representing 0.29 % of gross established TORs (with a value of EUR 61 million) and non-fraudulent irregularities representing 1.57 % of TORs (with a value of EUR 327.4 ~~million); apprecia~~); notes that fraud and irregularity cases detected in 2013 amounted to 380 million of which a total of EUR 234 million was recovered by the Member States; notes, in particular, the fact that theis recovery rate of 62 % for TORs in 2013 represents the best result achieved to date over the past decade;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is concerned that in 2013 most of the established amounts in OWNRES in the EU-28 related to the customs procedure 'release for free circulation' for both fraud cases (93%) and irregularity cases (87%); calls on the Commission to take appropriate actions aiming at reinforcing the customs procedure 'release for free circulation' in order to make the latter less prone to fraud and irregularity occurrences;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Notes that the overall trend in detecting and reporting potential fraudulent irregularities in the last five years shows a slow decrease but the number of irregularities not reported as fraudulent has progressively increased; asks the Commission for an analyses that answers the questions whether the trend is due to a shift towards detecting irregular cases or to the way in which Member States classify cases;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Welcomes the signature of the UN Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products by the European Union in 2013; observes that 15 Member States signed the Protocol and that at present it was ratified by Austria only; invites therefore the remaining Member States to complete their respective ratification process as soon as possible;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Notes further that 133 cases of smuggled cigarettes were registered by the Member States in 2013 involving an estimated TOR of around EUR 7 million; underlines that this trend represents a sharp decrease compared to 2012 where 224 cases involving around EUR 25 million were reported; is seriously concerned by the fact that Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden reported no cases of smuggled cigarettes to the Commission in 2013 and questions the efficiency of the reporting process in those Member States; insists upon all Member States to report smuggling and counterfeiting cases to the Commission in an accurate and timely manner so as to enable a better estimation of the TOR adversely affected;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Notes that the Commission will publish a study on the feasibility of a tracking and tracing system for tobacco products; underlines that this is a huge step forward in the fight against smuggling; demands from the Commission to implement and design an open and competitive track and trace system, so that the design and way the system is implemented does not favour one single or only a few solution providers;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 a (new)

Excise Movement Control System

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 f (new)

7f. Recalls that – Parliament has noted in its report on the Annual Report on the Protection of the Financial Interest of the Union adopted in Plenary on the 3. April 2014 that an increased abuse of the Excise Movement Control System (EMCS) by criminal groups had been observed by enforcement agencies and Parliament was convinced that there is a lack of physical controls of goods being transported under the EMCS; – the Commission should provide Parliament with an update on the measures taken to increase physical check within the next Annual Report 2014 on the Protection of the Financial Interest of the Union; – access rights of the EMCS need to be tightened in order to include a comprehensive history of compliance before trading, so that it is possible to grant business actors the status of 'empowered economic operator' ('trusted business actors'), so that only these actors could operate under EMCS directly by themselves; – Parliament demanded the Commission to present the results of current investigations concerning the need to amend Directive 2008/118/EC; – that verification checks conducted by Member States on people and companies applying to the register have to be more robust and comprehensive; – the Commission should explain the action taken concerning a higher degree of cooperation with tax authorities as goods can easily be misdeclared in order to evade excise duties; – time limits allowed for the excise movements between authorized warehouses are unrealistically long so that multiple movements on the same declaration and diversion are possible, before the delivery date is entered in the system; reiterates therefore its demands that the competent authority of the Member State declared as the destination and the new destination must be informed about changes immediately by the consignor; - Parliament demanded that the maximum allowed time for submission of the report on the receipt of the excise goods be one working day and, furthermore, that journey time be calculated and established for each delivery in accordance with the type of the means of transport used and distance between places of dispatch and destination; asks the Commission to be informed when these demands are implemented; – that the guarantees required to establish bonded warehouses are too low in comparison with the value of the excise goods and that Parliament therefore called on the Commission to establish a variable depending on the type of goods and the level of trade that actually occurs; asks the Commission to be informed when these demands are implemented; – Parliament is concerned that Member States have implemented their own EMCS systems based on broadly defined requirements by the Commission; reiterates its call on the Commission to take initiative for a more uniform system across the EU; (to be placed under the new heading Excise Movement Control System)

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Expresses concern that in the agricultural sector the number of both irregularities in general and fraudulent activities in particular increased significantly in 2013 as compared with 2012; notes that a new significant infringement trend referring to the 'beneficiary not having the required quality' occurred in 2013 with 51 fraudulent irregularity cases reported; considers that these trends require targeted measures aimed at on the one hand eliminating practices which may potentially lead to inadvertent infringements, and on the other hand aggressively confronting corrupt and criminal behaviour;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Acknowledges that in the agriculture and rural development area, Member States recovered EUR 197 million from the beneficiaries during the financial year 2013 while EUR 1 318.3 million remains to be recovered from the beneficiaries at year end of which EUR 1 097.1 million is outstanding to the EU budget following the application of the 50/50 mechanism;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Acknowledges that following the 2013 CAP reform Member States benefit from a higher degree of flexibility in the implementation of the policy and are notably allowed to customise it to their regional or national capabilities and priorities and to make transfers between its different pillars; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the increase in flexibility will not be at the expense of the monitoring and evaluation systems; notes further that in the framework of the new CAP the Commission is working on a simplification agenda; calls on the Commission to align the simplification agenda fully with DG AGRI's anti-fraud strategy and to maintain balance between simplification and the sound management of EU fund by ensuring adequate controls;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Regrets however the lack of information on the amounts to be recovered and the recovery rates specifically related to the cohesion policy for the financial year 2013; calls on the Commission to provide detailed information on this respect in its future annual report;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Takes note that in 2013 the Commission proceeded to 217 interruptions of payment in the cohesion policy area and that 131 were still opened at year-end involving an amount of nearly EUR 2 million; acknowledges further that the Commission adopted four suspension decisions in 2013 and two in January 2014;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Acknowledges that in 2013, as part of the Pre-Accession Assistance (PAA), 33 irregularities were reported as fraudulent with an affected amount of EUR 14.4 million and that those irregularities are mainly related to SAPARD; notes in addition that nine fraudulent irregularities involving an amount of EUR 1.2 million were reported under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA); observes that between 2003 and 2013 under the PAA the recovery rates reached 37.36% and 29.22% respectively for irregularity cases and fraudulent cases; calls on the Commission and the IPA beneficiary countries to take actions in order to ensure a higher recovery rate under IPA;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Observes that the recommendations made by the Commission to Member States in 2012 – particularly on the anti- fraud coordination services, the common rules on fraud, the reform of public procurement, the reported fraudulent irregularities, the systems of checks and controls and of risk assessment – were generally appropriate, and finds it regrettable that a number of concerns were not fully addressed; notes for instance that preparations were not launched by all Member States for the implementation of the MFF 2014-2020 and its provisions on fraud prevention; calls on Member States to follow-up on the Commission's recommendations made in 2012 and to ensure that those made to them in its 2011 report are followed in full, and that where action on recommendations cannot be taken they submit a reasoned explanation;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the differing levels of rigour and scope employed by the Member States in reporting irregularities, in general and fraudulent irregularities in particular, including in such areas as cohesion policy and agriculture, and calls on the Commission to develop a unified and comprehensive information bank on irregularities actually instigated and on measures taken, thus providing authorities and citizens with ~~trustworthy~~comparable and centralised data for the implementation of effective corrective measures, and for an objective assessment of the actual, rather than perceived, gravity of infringements and of the parties responsible;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16c. Is concerned since for the recovery orders qualified as irregularities (both reported as fraudulent and not reported as fraudulent) issued between 2009 and 2013 under centralized management, the average delay between the occurrence of an irregularity and its detection is 3.4 years: more than half of the cases (54%) were detected within 4 years following the year when the irregularity was committed, meanwhile in the other half (46%) of the cases the delay varied between 4 and 13 years; recalls that after the detection of the irregularity further procedures kick in (recovery orders, OLAF investigations, etc.); requests the Commission to determine the average, minimum and maximum lifespan of a detected irregularity under centralized management;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)

16d. Is furthermore worried since the average delay between the occurrences of an irregularity, its detection and finally its reporting to the Commission is 6.3 years in the agricultural sector and 2.75 years; recalls that after the detection of the irregularity further procedures kick in (recovery orders, OLAF investigations, etc.); requests the Commission to determine the average, minimum and maximum lifespan of a detected irregularity under shared management for each policy sector;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Considers that Member States which detect and report irregularities, including cases of fraud, on their own should be supported and encouraged to further improve their reporting and management systems~~, avoiding the counterproductive practice of ‘naming and shaming’~~; expresses concern at the Commission’'s inability to establish whether or not the low number of irregularities and cases of fraud detected by certain Member States and the wide gaps in the number of cases reported for different years are due to the ineffectiveness of these Member States’' control systems;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Finds it unacceptable that ~~certain Member States apply~~in cases of fraudulent irregularities certain Member States limit their actions to corrective measures ~~only~~ without proceeding to investigate ~~irregularities~~the potential criminal offence and sanction those responsible, thus failing to adequately protect the financial interests of both the EU and individual taxpayers; considers, therefore, that the adoption of decisions which introduce criminal law responsibility at EU level should represent a strong disincentive to committing illegal acts as well as to foregoing due process in pursuing and punishing corrupt or criminal behaviour which damages the financial interests of the EU;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)

20c. Underlines that greater transparency allowing for proper scrutiny is key to detect fraud schemes; recalls that in previous years the Parliament urged the Commission to take action to ensure one- stop transparency of all beneficiaries of EU-funds from all Member States by publishing on the same Commission's site all beneficiaries of EU funds, independently of the administrator of the funds and based on standard categories of information to be provided by all Member States in at least one working language of the Union; calls on the Member States to cooperate with and provide to the Commission full and reliable information regarding the beneficiaries of the EU funds managed by Member States; regrets that this measure has not been implemented and calls on the Commission to implement it urgently;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Urges the Commission to ~~revert to interruptions and suspensions of payments only as a last resort for prevent~~maintaing irregularities since such measures increase the risk of errors due to the reduced time frames required for the proper absorption of EU funds; requests that the Commission report on the actual contribution fromts strict policy of interruptions and suspensions of payments ~~in reducing irregularities and errors~~;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Reiterates its call for an independent and efficient EPPO, operating as a single office which investigates, prosecutes and brings to court the perpetrators of criminal offences affecting the Union's financial interests, while ensuring that procedural safeguards for the suspected and accused persons are protected; stresses the importance of a common agreement of Parliament and the Council in the selection and appointment procedures for independent prosecutors with investigative powers in Member States;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Welcomes the establishment of anti- fraud coordination services (AFCOS) in Member States as ~~bodies which~~required by Article 3(4) of the new OLAF Regulation and that Germany re-confirmed its working cooperation arrangement with OLAF; notes that AFCOS aim at facilitateing effective cooperation and ~~the~~ exchang~~e of~~ing information with OLAF and insists that Member States which have not yet designated AFCOS do so without further delay; expects that AFCOS will assist in facilitating better reporting of irregularities and contribute towards a balanced interpretation of the relevant EU acts; is nevertheless concerned by the substantial discrepancies already existing between the different AFCOS established in the Member States in terms of functions, tasks and powers as well as human resources allocated; acknowledges that AFCOS' mandate, institutional framework and tasks are not defined in details in Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 883/2013 but is of the opinion that AFCOS operationally independent with a comprehensive mandate including investigative powers represent a benchmark to be developed by all Member States;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Acknowledges the Commission's reporting on the results of the Hercule II Programme; takes note that in 2013 the budget of Hercule II was reduced to EUR 14 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 9,9 million in payment appropriations compared to 2012 resulting in difficulties in meeting the financial commitments made in 2013 and previous years; observes with satisfaction that Hercule II activities receive an increasing interest from the Member States as demonstrated by the ever growing number of applications received following the calls for proposals; welcomes the positive results obtained in 2013 such as in Germany, Spain and Romania thanks to the deployed of highly sophisticated and transnational compatible technical equipment purchased thanks to the Programme;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Welcomes the adoption of the Regulation establishing Hercule III for the financial period 2014-2020 which allows for an increased maximum co- funding percentage for technical assistance grants of 80% of the eligible costs and up to 90% in exceptional and duly justified cases instead of the maximum of 50% under the Hercule II Decision; notes that the first call for proposals was successfully launched in 2014; is nevertheless concerned that the Programme is already particularly affected by the issue of outstanding payments leading to possible adverse effects on funded and future projects;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Notes that in 2013 OLAF issued 353 recommendations for administrative, disciplinary, financial or judicial action to be taken by the relevant EU institutions, bodies, offices, agencies or the competent national authorities and that about EUR 402,8 million was recommended for recovery; is concerned that the rate of indictment following OLAF's judicial recommendations for the period 2006- 2013 is only about 54%; is worried since the low rate of indictment also sheds a bad light on the quality and the usability of the Office's investigative results; calls on the Commission to urgently ameliorate the effectiveness of the Office; deems a fully-fledged and proper oversight over the Offices affairs by the Supervisory Committee (without interference in on- going investigations) as indispensable and therefore urges the Commission and the Office improve the current situation in which the Supervisory Committee is not able to fulfil its purpose; regrets further the lack of information on conviction rate in cases involving offences against the Union's budget;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. ~~Views the fact~~Takes note that in 2013 OLAF self- reportedly received the largest amount of information registered to date, a~~s well as the~~nd claims to have issued an unprecedented number of recommendations ~~issued by OLAF, as a clear indication of the growing role of the office in protecting the financial interests of the EU against fraud~~; points out that the method how incoming information and issued recommendation is counted was also change; asks the Supervisory Committee to analyse the effects of these data changes and the quality of recommendations issued by OLAF;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Views the fact that in 2013 OLAF received the largest amount of information registered to date, as well as ~~the unprecedented number of recommendations issued by OLAF~~closed the highest number of cases with recommendations, as a clear indication of the growing role of the office in protecting the financial interests of the EU against fraud; is however concerned that the ratio of OLAF investigation and coordination cases closed with recommendations decreased from 56,4% in 2009 to 39,5% in 2013 and urges the office to inform the European Parliament of the reasons behind this trend;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Calls on the OLAF Supervisory Committee to inform Parliament about the duration of OLAF investigations and the calculation method hereto as this method was changed in 2012; points out that this change may artificially reduce the apparent duration of investigations; asks the Supervisory Committee to closely analyse the quality of information provided by OLAF including the reports to the institutions;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. ~~Welcomes the adoption of new working arrangements between OLAF and its s~~Calls on the Director General to improve the working situation of the OLAF Supervisory cCommittee ~~and~~; expects that the~~y will contribute to better cooperation and mutual understanding between both bodies~~ Director General will finally contribute on a serious level to a better cooperation and mutual understanding between both bodies; asks the Commission to draw consequences from the unbearable situation, in which reports of the Office raise doubts on their factuality and in which the Supervisory Committee cannot validate the work of the Office;

2014/12/12
Committee: CONT

Activities of Ingeborg GRÄSSLE related to 2014/2155(INI)

Plenary speeches (1)

Amendments (40)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024