The European Commission has recently decided to claim back a total of € 126.7 million of EU farm money unduly spent by Member States.
The member states are responsible for paying out and checking expenditure under the CAP and the Commission is in charge of ensuring that they have made correct use of the funds.
The Commission verifies, under the conformity clearance procedure, whether the Member States have made correct use of the funds placed at their disposal by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).
The Commission recovers sums paid out to Member States where these payments are not in conformity with Community rules or where there are weaknesses in the control and verification system of the Member State.
Under the Commission decision funds will be recovered from Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and Slovenia. The money returns, therefore, to the Community budget.
The UK will be charged with € 9.5 million for risk analysis used improperly and insufficient verification of documents within export refunds aid scheme.
