Activities of Corina CREȚU related to 2019/2128(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on protection of the European Union’s financial interests - combating fraud - annual report 2018
Amendments (81)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas de jure the Member States and the Commission have shared responsibility for implementing 74 % of the Union’s budget for 2018; whereas de facto, however, Member States spend those resources and the Commission is responsible for their supervision through its control mechanismsthe Commission in cooperation with the Member States implements the Union’s budget, of which 74 % were implemented under shared management in 2018;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Commission should fulfil its respective responsibilities under shared management for supervision, control and audit;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas according to the Article 63 of the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom2018/1046), when executing tasks relating to budget implementation Member States should take all necessary measures to prevent, detect and correct irregularities and fraud;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas in order to protect the financial interests of the Union the Member States should carry out ex-ante and ex post controls, should recover unduly paid funds and bring legal proceeding in that regard where necessary;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas sound public spendingfinancial management and the protection of the EU’s financial interests should be key elements of EU policy in orderare key principles of EU budget implementation policy aiming to increase the confidence of citizens by ensuring that their moneyEU budget is used properly and effectively executed;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas achieving good performance with simplification processes involvesEU budget supports shared objectives and helps to tackle common challenges and whereas good performance is a precondition for achieving results and priorities, simplification regularly assessingment inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts through performance audits are essential elements for the performance based budgeting;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas according to Article 83 of the TFEU corruption is one of the particularly serious crimes with a cross- border dimension which has its negative effect on the EU financial interests;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas fraud involving EU funds is one of the means by which criminal organisations penetrate the economy and undermine economic freedom and free competition;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the diversity of legal and administrative systems in the Member States needs to be adequately addressed in order to overcomeallow for a more coordinated EU action for prevention of irregularities and combating fraud; whereas the Commission should furtherefore step up strengthen its efforts to ensure that the fight against fraud isand to continue implementeding them effectively andin order to produces even more tangible and more satisfactory results;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. Whereas corruption represents a serious threat to the financial interests of the union, but also on democracy and the trust on public administration;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Welcomes the 30th Annual report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the fight against fraud, as well as the progress achieved during the past three decades in setting and developing the legislative foundations and institutional framework (OLAF and EPPO) of the fight against fraud and irregularities at EU level, in establishing cooperation between Member States and between them and the Commission, and in reaching results of protection of the EU budget which would not be possible without the joint efforts of both the EU institutions and national authorities;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Observes with great concern the permanent modification of fraud methods and new patterns of fraud, with a strong transnational dimension and with cross- border fraud schemes (i.e. fraud in the promotion of agricultural products; shell companies; evasion of custom duties through the undervaluation of textiles and footwear entering the Union and going through customs clearance in several Member States; e-commerce; and counterfeiting), which negatively affect the revenue side of the EU budget and which require new coordinated response at EU and national level;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that the number of fraudulent irregularities and the associated amounts are not a direct indicator of the level of fraud affecting the EU budget; notes that fraudulent irregularities affected 0,71% of 2018 payments and 0,65% of gross amount of TOR collected for 2018; notes further that non- fraudulent irregularities affected 0,58% of 2018 payments and 1,78% of gross amount of TOR collected for 2018;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls furthermore on the Commission to carry comprehensive checks to ensure the full transparency and quality of data reported by the Member States in the Irregularity Management System (IMS);
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the number of fraudulent irregularities reported in 2018 (1 152 cases) remained stable as compared with 2017; regrets that the financial, however, that the amounts involved increased by a significant 183 %, mostly related to cohesion policy expenditur; This increase is due, to a large extent, to two fraudulent irregularities concerning cohesion policy expenditure; Stresses the need to recuperate these high amounts as soon as possible;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Takes into considerationNotes that the fact that the number of non-fraudulent irregularities registered in 2018 showed a fall of 27 % (10 487 cases), while the financial amounts involved decreased by 37 % to EUR 1.3 billion;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers it advisable foralls on Member States to cooperate more closely as regards exchanges of information, in order both to improve their data collection and enhance the effectiveness of their controls; recalls the role of the Commission in coordinating the cooperation between Member States;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Finds worrisome weaknesses revealed in the verification of beneficiaries’ registered offices; regretnotes that to reduce the administrative burden on Member State authorities, EU law obligesthe Common Provisions Regulation 1303/2013 requires from them only to report fraudulent or non- fraudulent irregularities involving more than EUR 10 000 in EU money-contributionfrom ESIF ; recalls that for agriculture and the European Social Fund there are a large number of payments below the EUR 10 000 threshold, which are disbursed as entitlement payments (based on meeting certain conditions), and, as a consequence, potentially fraudulent payments below the reporting threshold which are not reported, notes, however, the Court of Auditors’ observation in its Annual Reports for 2017 and 2018 that entitlement payments are less prone to errors than cost reimbursement, which is the disbursement methods for projects above EUR 10 000;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Strongly condemns the large-scale misuse of European structural and investment funds by high-level government officials in the Czech Republic, and other public actors in Hungary, Greece, Poland, Romania and Italy; notes that such fraud is at the expense of small family businesses who need the subsidies the most;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Stresses that the European Commission currently does not take sufficient action to tackle this type of fraud; urges the Commission to conduct effective controls in combination with binding measures; notes that the EPPO should play a major role in conducting cross-border research, detecting and reporting cases of fraud, and bringing fraudsters to justice;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Revenue – own resources fraud
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. RegretNotes the rise of 1 % in the number of fraudulent registered cases for the TOR collected (to 473 in 2018), as well and regrets the rise of 116 % in the financial amounts involved;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that the number of irregularities reported as non-fraudulent for 2018 was 10% lower than the average for years 2014-2018, but regrets that the affected amount is 17% higher;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Expresses itsIs deeply concerned that according to the Commission’s ‘fast estimates’ statistics, the VAT gap in 2018 amounted to approximately EUR 130 billion, which represents approximately 10 % of total expected VAT revenue, and that the Commission estimates that intra- Community VAT fraud cases cost around EUR 50 billion annually; regrets the loss of 5 billion EUR yearly coming from supplies of low-value goods from third countries;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Takes into considerationHighlights OLAF’s important role in investigation VAT matters; welcomes the modification of Council Regulation 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and the fight against fraud in the field of value added tax17, resulting in from 2018 introducing measures for strengthening thed capacity of national tax administrations to check cross-border supplies, and to address the most damaging VAT fraud schemes and diminish the VAT gap; _________________ 17 OJ L268, 12.10.2010, p. 1.
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for measures to fully ensureNotes furthermore the measures introduced with the modified Council Regulation 904/2010 to maximise the new Transaction Network Analysis (TNA) software potential to identify fraudulent networks across the whole EU; calls the data protection of economic operators under investigation listed in the new Transaction Network Analysis (TNA) software to be fully ensured;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the sharing ofintroduction of measures for the sharing relevant data as from 2020 on customs ‘procedure 42/63 data’ and ‘procedure/63’ between national tax authorities, allowing cross-checking of VAT numbers, value of the imported goods, type of commodities, etc. by the Member State of import and the customer’s Member State;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the dominant importance of prioritising the development of National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFSs) by theall Member States over the supranational approach imposed at EU level;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the seriousness of the current situation concerning fraud involving failure to payfraud concerning VAT, in particular the so-called ‘carousel fraud’ which results in the non-payment of VAT to the relevant tax authorities by the missing trader, even if it has been deducted from the customer;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Takes into considerationNotes that solar panels were the goods most affected by fraud and irregularities in monetary terms in 2018, as was also the case in 2017 and 2016; welcomes the on-the-spot inspections carried out by the Commission and underlines the importance of OLAF’s investigations and OLAF’s coordination role in this field;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Welcomes the fact that several Member States have rolled out new IT tools, risk-based approaches and initiatives to counter challenges in the area of traditional own resources collection; encourages Member States to further cooperate in making joint use of these tools, approaches and initiatives, to further exchange good practices and to enhance cooperation under the Eurofisc framework;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Finds it worrisome that the undervaluation of textiles and shoes importedIs concerned that revenue fraud through the undervaluation of goods imported into the EU from Cthina occurs as a major instance of fraudrd countries remains a threat for the EU financial interests; recognises the cross- border e- commerce trade of goods as a considerable source of tax fraud in the EU, especially in the case of smaller goods; calls on Member States to address the issues linked to cross-border e-commerce, particularly for the potential abuse of low- value consignments reliefs by fully implementing the Commission’s recommendations in this sense;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Notes that non-fraudulent irregularities were primarily detected by means of post-release controls, but underlines the importance of the custom controls before or at the time of release of goods, as well as of voluntary admissions for detection of irregularities;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Finds it worrisome that some Member States regularly do not report a single case of fraud; invites the Commission to investigate the situation, as it considers the likelihood that no fraudulent activities exist in those Member States to be rather low; calls on the Commission to run random spot checks in these countries;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes with dismay that the average recovery rate for cases reported as fraudulent over the years 1989-2018 was around 37 %41%; notes as well that the recovery rate for fraudulent cases reported and detected in 2018 was 70% which is significantly above the average rate; reiterates its call on the Commission to develop a strategy for improving the recovery rate in these cases;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Notes that the overall recovery rate for non-fraudulent cases reported over the years 1989-2018 was 72%;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Expenditure fraud
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the decrease of 3 % in the number of cases (679) reported as fraudulent irregularities in 2018) reported as fraudulentaffecting expenditure; regrets, however, the opposite trend occurring in the financial amounts involved (EUR 1.032 million), resulting in an increase of 198 %;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. NotWelcomes the decrease of 4 % in registered non-fraudulent irregularities, as well as thate reduction of 48 % in the financial amounts involved (EUR 844.9 million);
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that, with regard to two of the policies most affected by fraudulent irregularities, 249 fraudulent irregularities were registered in 2018 (-6 %) forrelated to the common agricultural policy, involvingfor a total of EUR 63.3 million (+10 %), and 363, again in 2018 (+5 %), for cohesion policy, thefor a total amount involved beingof EUR 959.6 million (+199 %); Notes, regarding cohesion policy, that this increase was mainly due to two irregularities involving very high sums by one MS and that this fluctuation should be seen and understood in this context;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. RegretNotes that for the CAP the ‘fraud frequency level’ (FFL) stands at 10 %, whilefor the reporting years 2014-2018 the ‘fraud frequency level’ (FFL) representing the percentage of cases qualified as suspected fraud and established fraud in relation to the total number of reported irregularities stands at 10 %, theat ‘fraud amounts level’ is about 23 %; notes with dismay that the ‘fraud detection rate’ (FDR) is only 0.11 %, while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ of the total financial amount affected by irregularities; notes further that the ‘fraud detection rate’ (FDR) representing the percentage of total financial amount affected by suspected and established fraud in relation to the total expenditure is only 0.11 %, while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ representing the percentage of total financial amount affected by irregularities in relation to the total expenditure is 0.37 %;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Similarly regretnotes that the ‘fraud detection rate’ for cohesion policy is 0.86 % while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ is about 0.34 %;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Reiterates the importance of transparency on the expenditures, requesting for full access to the information in case of European financing;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)
Subheading 3 a (new)
OLAF
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Takes note of the expansion of the role of the anti-fraud coordination services (AFCOS) in fostering the effectiveness of the various channels for cross-border cooperation between national authorities, in particular for tackling customs fraud, but also for cooperation with OLAF;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. NotWelcomes the implementation of the 2019adoption, in April 2019, of the Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy (CAFS), adjusted to two significant additions to EU anti-fraud legislation adopted in 2017, i.e. the PIF Directive, which sets stricter common standards for Member States’ criminal legislation to protect the EU’s financial interests, and the regulation establishing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO);
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Draws attention to the vital role played by OLAF and the need to strengthen it further and ensure effective coordination with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. NoteRegrets that only twelve Member States have implemented the new PIF directive for the time being, another eight having implemented it partially and the others not at all yet; notes that the deadline for implementation of the new PIF directive has expired on 6July 2019 already; calls on the Commission to publish, as soon as possible, a list of all Member States which have failed to transpose the directive by the deadline; calls on all remaining Member States to take all necessary measures and ensure the full and correct transposition of the Directive within the shortest time possible; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the transposition process in all Member States, as well as to make use of its prerogatives for launching infringement procedures, where Member States fail to comply with the transposition process;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Notes that that the EU Anti-Fraud Programme and its new priorities need sufficient funding on order to achieve results; is therefore concerned about the proposal of the president of the European Council to decrease the budget of EU Anti-Fraud Programme from 156 million Euro for the period 2014-2020 to 111 million Euro for the period 2021-2027;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Reiterates the need to include in national anti-fraud strategies proactive anti-fraud methods which ensure not only that fraud is detected, but that it is also effectively prevented;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. RecallWelcomes the fact that in 2018 the Netherlands and Malta decided to join the EPPO; notes that by the end of October 2019 five Member States had not joined the EPPO; recalls, however, that under recital 9 of Regulation 2017/1939 they can join at any time this cross-border cooperation; encourages all remaining Member States to join the EPPO as soon as possible; calls on the Commission to actively promote and incentivise EPPO membership among so-far reluctant Member States, in order to ensure effective and efficient cross-border functioning across the EU;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Stresses that the selection procedure of the European Chief Public Prosecutor, initiated in 2018, registered delays, in view of a disagreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the preferred candidate was finalised in 2019;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Stresses that after the creation of the EPPO, OLAF will remain the sole office responsible for protecting EU financial interests in the Member States that decided not to join the EPPO; highlights that according to opinion 8/2018of the European Court of Auditors, the Commission proposal amending the OLAF regulation does not resolve the issue of low effectiveness of OLAF’s administrative investigations; underlines the importance of ensuring that OLAF remains a strong and fully functioning partner to the EPPO;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Points out two areas for improvement: firstly, to improve fraud risk assessment and fraud risk management, the Commission needs a more comprehensiveand Member States should strengthen their analytical capabilcity so that it can scanorder to better identify data on fraud patterns, fraudsters’ profiles and vulnerabilities in EU internal control systems; secondly, to ensure consistency and to optimise efficiency and effectiveness, decentralisedthe assessment and management of fraud risks need to be strongly coordinated and monitored by a strong review system;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Highlights that the connection between corruption and fraud in EU spendingmay have a negative impact on the EU budget; regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Reiterates that the ‘revolving door’ effect can be detrimental to relations between the institutions and interest representatives; calls for the EU institutions to develop a systematic approach to this challenge;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Is concerned about the risk of undervaluation of supplies of e-commerce goods from third countries; welcomes the steps taken by OLAF to solve the problem of e- commerce VAT fraud;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44a. Recalls 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 (MTIC) 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 Member States to participate in all of Eurofisc’s fields of activity so as to facilitate and accelerate information exchange with judicial and law enforcement authorities such as Europol and OLAF, as recommended by the European Court of Auditors; calls on the Member States and the Council to grant the Commission access to these data in order to foster cooperation, strengthen data reliability and fight cross-border crime;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. AcknowledgeHighlights the need to address certain shortcomings of the current EU anti-fraud enforcement system, in particular with regard to the collection of accurate data on fraudulent and non- fraudulent irregularities;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Finds it astonishing that the Commission does not havUrges the Commission and Member States to utilise and improve, where possible, common reporting methods in order to provide comprehensive and comparable information on the detected fraud level in EU spending;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Reminds the Member States that it is in their own interest to cooperate fully with the Commissionworking in cooperation with the Commission is necessary in order to ensure effective spending and evaluate results;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Notes that, in the area of shared management, the Commission does not have the power to initiate the exclusion of unreliable economic operators from receiving EU funding when Member State authorities do not do so; calls on the Member States to promptly report fraudulent irregularities in the IMS and to make the best use of the Early Detection and Exclusion System;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Insists that Member States make effective use of the fraud prevention tool offered by the ARACHNE database, by submitting timely data and exploiting the opportunities that big data offers to prevent the fraudulent and irregular use of EU funds; calls on the Commission to consider making the use of ARACHNE mandatory;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Highlights the role and responsibility of the Member States in the implementation of administrative cooperation agreements, the effectiveness of controls, the enforcement of data collection, and the monitoring of traders’ compliance with the regulatory framework;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 a (new)
Paragraph 54 a (new)
54a. Strongly encourages the Commission, OLAF and all the other institutions and bodies of the Union entrusted with the protection of the financial interests of the Union to actively engage and collaborate with partner authorities in candidate, potential candidate and EaP countries, promoting measures to effectively address possible fraud cases; calls on the Commission to develop specific and regular mechanisms to effectively prevent and combat fraud with EU funds in these states;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58
Paragraph 58
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58 a (new)
Paragraph 58 a (new)
58a. Urges the EU agencies, in particular Europol, Eurojust and OLAF, to cooperate ever more closely with national authorities in order to detect fraud more effectively;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58 a (new)
Paragraph 58 a (new)
58a. Is of the opinion that investigative journalism plays a key role in fostering the necessary level of transparency in the EU and the Member States, and that it must be encouraged and supported by legal means both by the Member States and within the EU; calls on the Commission to develop comprehensive measures for the protection of investigative journalism, including a rapid response mechanism for journalists in distress and effective anti-SLAPP legislation;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58 a (new)
Paragraph 58 a (new)
58a. Highlights the central role that transparency plays in the prevention and early detection of fraud and conflict of interest cases; calls on all Member States to step up their efforts in order to increase budgetary transparency, by ensuring that relevant data concerning public procurement procedures and the attribution of publicly funded contracts is available and easily accessible to the general public;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Anticipates thatWelcomes the adoption of the ‘omnibus regulation’ will drasticaand expects that it willy reduce the fraud rates for the agriculture and cohesion policies;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)
Paragraph 59 a (new)
59a. Calls on the Member States to step up their exchange of information about possible fraudulent companies and transactions through the Eurofisc network; points out that exchange of, and access to, information by judicial and investigating authorities, while respecting the protection of personal data, is essential in combating fraud and organised crime;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)
Paragraph 59 a (new)
59a. Invites the Member States to increase their exchange of information about possible fraudulent companies and transactions through the Eurofisc network;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Welcomes theReiterates its position for the need of a clear legal basis enabling OLAF to access bank account information through the assistance of national competent authorities, following and to deal with VAT fraud, expressed with regard to the revision of Regulation No 883/2013;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and, the OLAF Supervisory Committee and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).