The fight against fraud on the EU's finances : 12th report of session 2012-13

EU law obliges both the European Commission and the Members States to combat fraud on the EU's finances. However, the onus to protect the EU's financial interests falls mainly on the individual Member States because they are responsible for administering 80% of the EU funds. The Committee has identified a number of weaknesses in the EU's anti fraud system. The 404 million euros cited by the Commission in its annual report offers only a glimpse of the levels of fraud perpetrated against the EU's budget, the Committee believes 5 euros billion is a closer figure. Also the evidence presented to the Committee suggests that some Member States do not take their anti-fraud responsibilities seriously. Responsibilities should include: (i) Looking for fraud against the EU's budget; (ii) Informing the relevant EU authorities when they find it; (iii) Acting on referrals from the EU's own anti-fraud body OLAF. The Committee were unable to ascertain whether any UK Government department or agency takes overall responsibility for this issue and how much fraud occurs. The Committee therefore recommends the establishment of a single department or agency to fight against EU fraud and quantify the problem in the UK.