By Henrietta Billings - 2nd May 2004
Brussels is set to claw back millions of wasted EU farm money from national governments, the European Commission announced on Monday.
A total of €119.46m of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) funds will have to be paid back, according to the commission, because of inadequate control procedures or flouting of EU rules on agricultural spending.
"European taxpayers have to be sure that their money is being correctly spent," said EU agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler. "The Commission's duty is to recover funds which are misspent."
Belgium, Spain, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal are all affected but the main offenders are France, Italy and the UK.
France will be charged €27.68m for failings in key controls in the arable crops sector and €20.81m for misplaced compensation aid in the fruit and vegetable sector.
Italy will have to pay back €19.06m for infringements of EU law relating to young farmers in the rural development sector, and the UK will be charged €16.80m for shortcomings in on-the-spot checks in the arable crops sector.
National governments are responsible for paying out and checking almost all spending under the CAP, although it is up to the commission to ensure that each country is spending the money correctly.
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