Newly published analysis of how the EU's sizeable annual budget was spent during 2011 suggests abuse of the funding system by operators in the fresh produce industry may still be occurring.
In its annual report, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated that the checks put in place within each member country to ensure those applying for funding did so in compliance with strict conditions remained inadequate in many cases.
The report cited one example in Lombardy, Italy, where a fruit producer had claimed €221,205 in funding from Brussels to support the construction of a packhouse, storage centre and an area described as a terrace for drying fruit.
Although the local funding agency approved the claim on the basis of administrative and on -the-spot checks, the court found that the building had "predominantly the characteristics of a private residence and not of an agricultural building" and therefore ruled that the producer had not in fact been eligible for any of the funds.
"The fact that the national authorities accepted the full amount of expenditure declared indicates a material system weakness in the administrative and on-the-spot checks," the ECA said.
Other commitments made by those in the agricultural sector applying for EU funding were also breached, the court found.
One grower committed to employ appropriate orchard management techniques and good agricultural practice – including pruning and thinning of fruit trees – but the auditors found the trees had not been pruned and that areas of the land in question were "covered with waste matter".
In another case, the beneficiary broke a promised to leave a certain proportion of his land fallow in return for a significant amount of financial support.
The report noted: "According to the applicable national rules, this significant breach of requirements for the two schemes should result in a 100 per cent reduction of the payment."
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