EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 14.7.2016 SWD(2016) 238 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Annual overview with information on the results of the Hercule III Programme in 2015 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLEMENT AND THE COUNCIL Protection of the European Union's financial interests - Fight against Fraud

2015 Annual Report {COM(2016) 472 final}

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{SWD(2016) 235 final}

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1. Introduction 1.1 Hercule III Programme 1.2 Hercule III: eligible actions, beneficiaries and budget 1.3 Purpose and scope of this overview 2. Budget implementation in 2015 2.1 Budget implementation by type of financial intervention 2.2 Budget implementation by type of eligible action 2.2.1 Technical Assistance grants 2.2.2 IT Support: Databases, IT-tools and analyses of samples from tobacco seizures 2.2.3 Conferences, seminars and digital forensic training 2.2.4 Legal training and studies 3. Achievements 2015 3.1 Improving the prevention and investigation of fraud and other illegal activities beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation 3.2 Increasing the protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud by facilitating the exchange of information, experiences and best practices, including staff exchanges 3.3 Strengthening the fight against fraud and other illegal activities by providing technical and operational support to national investigation, and in particular customs and law enforcement, authorities 3.4 Limiting the currently known exposure of the financial interests of the Union to fraud, corruption and other illegal activities with a view to reducing the development of an illegal economy in key risk areas such as organised fraud, including cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting 3.5 Enhancing the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud by promoting comparative law analysis 4. Communication 4.1 Informing potential applicants

4.2 Dissemination of results 4.3 Publicity 5. Feedback from participants of the programme 6. Conclusions and way forward Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2015 Financing Decision



1. Introduction 1.1Hercule III Programme The aim of the Hercule III Programme (hereinafter referred to as “the Programme”) is to protect the financial interests of the European Union by fighting fraud, corruption and other irregularities. The Programme provides support to national and regional administrations in Member States which “promote the strengthening of action at Union level to protect the financial interests of the Union”. The financial support mostly consists of grants awarded to the competent authorities in the Member States to strengthen their operational capacity to carry out investigation into activities detrimental to the Union’s financial interests. The financial support is used for the purchase of technical equipment, such as x-rays scanners, soft- and hardware for digital forensics examinations or the purchase of sniffer dogs. To a lesser extent, the Programme also serves to finance trainings and conferences for Member States' authorities. The Programme’s legal basis requires the Commission to adopt an annual work programme for the implementation of the Programme and to submit a report on the main results and achievements every year to the European Parliament and to the Council. This is the second annual overview of the achievements and results and its structure is based on the second annual work programme. The Programme is the only instrument specifically dedicated to protecting the Union’s financial interests and is administered by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which, in the field of anti-fraud policy operates as a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The general objective of the Programme “shall be to protect the financial interests of the Union thus enhancing the competitiveness of the Union's economy and ensuring the protection of the taxpayers' money”, whereas the Programme’s specific objective shall be “to prevent and combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union”. The five operational objectives of the Programme are described in section 3 of this report, together with an overview of the main results of the actions carried out under the Programme and the contribution the actions made to achieving the operational objectives. 1.2Hercule III: eligible actions, beneficiaries and budget There are three types of eligible actions supported by the Programme: 1.“Technical Assistance”: this type relates to support aimed at providing specific knowledge, equipment and information technology tools to national authorities as well as providing specific databases and IT tools facilitating data access and analysis; 2.“Training”, which relates to support for training activities, conferences and legal studies focused on the protection of the Union’s financial interests. This type includes legal training and studies; 3.“Any other action”: actions necessary for attaining the general, the specific and the operational objectives of the Programme.

The Programme’s beneficiaries are: 1.National or regional administrations of a Member State; 2.Research and educational institutes and non-profit-making entities in the Member States. Both shall “promote the strengthening of action at Union level to protect the financial interests of the Union”. Costs incurred for persons from third countries to enable their participation in an event organised with funding from the Programme, such as conferences, seminars or training, can be considered eligible for funding under certain conditions. The budget for the implementation of the Programme in 2015 amounted to EUR 14 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 12.4 million in payment appropriations and is financed under item 24.0201 of the European Union budget for 2015. 1.3Purpose and scope of this overview The annual overview is intended to fulfil the requirement under Article 13.1 of Regulation (EU) 250/2015 to "provide the European Parliament and the Council, on an annual basis, with information on the implementation of the Programme, including on the achievement of the objectives of the Programme and the results". To that end, this overview covers information on actions for which financial commitments were made under the 2015 work programme (section 2) as well as the results of actions that were finalised in 2015, but committed under the Hercule Programmes in previous years (section 3).

2. Budget implementation in 2015 The budget for the implementation of the Programme amounted to EUR 14 million in commitment appropriations. Table 1 gives an overview of the available budget and the commitments made in 2015. Table 1: Available budget and commitments made in 2015 TYPES OF ELIGIBLE ACTIONS 2015 BUDGET COMMIT % TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (min. 70%) 10 250 000 11 138 180 109 Grants: Cigarettes and Investigation support Grants 8 050 000 9 135 794 114 IT Databases Procurement 1 450 000 1 277 386 88 Tobacco analysis (JRC) Procurement 225 000 225 000 100 IT Data analysis (JRC) Procurement 525 000 500 000 95 ANTI-FRAUD TRAINING (max. 25%) 3 650 000 2 728 624 75 Grants: Anti-fraud training Grants 900 000 870 557 97 Procured conferences Procurement 1 100 000 369 344 34 Digital Forensics Training sessions Procurement 1 000 000 881 523 88 Grants: Legal Training and Studies Grants 500 000 457 200 91 Procured study Procurement 150 000 150 000 100 OTHER ACTIONS (max. 5%) 167 100 120 638 72 Questions Eurobarometer Survey Procurement 125 000 120 638 97 P.M. P.M. 42 100 0 0 TOTAL 2015 14 067 100 13 987 442 99 The information in the table above only relates to commitments. The payments under the grant agreements and most of the contracts committed in 2015 cannot be reported as most of the payments will only be made in 2016 and beyond. 2.1Budget implementation by type of financial intervention The Programme was implemented by making use of public procurement (contracts) and grants ("financial interventions"). The Commission concluded contracts for the purchase of goods or services, such as access to databases, the development of IT-systems or the organisation of training and conferences. The contracts were concluded on the basis of existing framework contracts (FWC), the purpose of which is to establish the terms governing specific contracts to be awarded during a given period. In 2015, the overall amount spent on contracts was EUR 3 523 891 (as shown in graph 1). Grants are direct financial contributions to finance an action intended to help achieving a Union policy objective. The overall budget spent on grants was EUR 10 463 551. Grants are awarded following a Call for Proposals, inviting applicants to submit a proposal for an action that, in the case of the Hercule Programme, contributes to the achievement of the Programme's objectives. The beneficiary of a grant becomes the legal and economic owner of the goods or services that are purchased with the help of the grant. Under the Programme, grants may cover up to 80% of the eligible costs of the action. In 2015, the Commission twice used the possibility to award a grant covering 90% of the eligible costs. In June 2015, the Commission launched three Calls for Proposals for Technical Assistance, Legal Training and Training & Conferences with as deadline September 2015. The Commission published a notice on the Calls in the Official Journal and on its website. Moreover, it informed the members of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention (COCOLAF) and invited them to inform potential applicants in Member State country about the Programme's funding opportunities. The Commission received 141 applications that were subsequently examined by three different Evaluation Committees. Each application was examined on the basis of four sets of criteria that were listed in the technical specifications of the Call and ranked on the basis of the score it obtained on the following award criteria: Added value of the application for the protection of the financial interests of the Union;

Conformity with the operational objectives of the Programme; Quality; Value for money. The examination of the applications eventually led to the award of 38 grants at the beginning of 2016. Graph 1 below gives a breakdown of the budget (planned) and achieved commitments in 2015 by type of financial intervention (grants and procurement). Graph 1: Hercule III budget and commitments in 2015 by type of financial intervention 2.2Budget implementation by type of eligible action Graph 2 below gives a breakdown of the budget (planned) and achieved commitments in 2015 by type of action. The "Technical Assistance" actions identified in Regulation 250/2014 encompass "Technical Assistance" activities as well as "IT-support", whereas the "Training Actions" include "Anti-fraud Training" and "Legal Training". The planned budget for technical assistance represented 73% of the total and the commitments represented 79%. These percentages are well above the minimum percentage to be spent on technical assistance actions as provided for in the annex to Regulation 250/2014. Graph 2: Hercule III budget and commitments in 2015 by type of eligible action



Graph 3 gives an overview of the committed budget as well as the number of awarded grants for technical assistance (TA) and training actions (Anti-fraud training (TRAI) and Legal training (LEGAL) in 2015. The information is broken down by Member State. Graph 3: Hercule III commitments (in EUR 1 000) and number of grants in 2015 by Member State and by sector of activity 2.2.1 Technical Assistance grants The budget for technical assistance grants was EUR 8 050000 and was available for funding actions submitted by national and regional authorities in the Member States within the framework of a Call for Proposals organised in June 2015. The grants enabled its beneficiaries to purchase and instal special equipment and tools needed in the fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union. This support included tools and devices for the fight against cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting. Examples of actions for which funding could be requested were: 1.The purchase and maintenance of investigation tools and methods, including specialised training to operate these tools, such as scanners or equipment to monitor communications;

2.The purchase and maintenance of devices and animals to carry out inspections of containers, trucks, railway wagons and vehicles at the Union’s external borders to detect smuggled and counterfeited goods; 3.The purchase, maintenance and interconnection of systems for the recognition of vehicle number plates (Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems – ANPRS) or container codes. Specialised training needed to operate these systems is included; 4.The purchase of services to support Member States’ capacity to store and destroy seized cigarettes. The Commission received 79 applications from 22 Member States by the deadline of 1 September 2015. The total budget of the proposed actions was EUR 43 million and the requested financial support amounted to EUR 35 million. This amount exceeded the available budget of EUR 8 million 4.5 times. The high number of applications led to a short delay in the evaluation procedure about which the applicants were notified by e-mail at the beginning of December 2015. The Evaluation Committee set up for the examination of the applications adopted its recommendations in February 2016 and the decision to award a grant to 17 applications was adopted end February 2016. All applicants were informed on the outcome of the evaluation procedure and the reasons that led to the acceptance or rejection of their application. The overall amount for the grants was of EUR 9.1 million. The average co-financing percentage for the awarded grants amounted to 81% of the eligible costs of the action. The grants were awarded for the purchase of investigation equipment (including forensics equipment), the purchase of x-rays scanners, the purchase and training of sniffer dogs and Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems (ANPRS). Table 1 in Annex 1 gives an overview of the grants and co-financing rate, the beneficiaries and the supported action. 2.2.2 IT Support: Databases, IT-tools and analyses of samples from tobacco seizures Databases The Programme provides funds to procure databases or subscription to databases for law enforcement authorities in the Member States in order to support their operations and investigations. The Commission procures and manages the access to databases thus enabling substantial economies of scale. OLAF staff also use these databases for their investigations. In 2015, the databases were purchased by making use of specific contracts under framework contracts that have been concluded in 2012 and 2013. Table 4 in Annex I gives an overview of the awarded contracts in 2015. Development of specific IT tools for data analyses Two projects for the analysis of “big data” that were initiated under the Hercule II Programme were continued in 2015. The Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT, for an amount of EUR 240 000) and Container Traffic (CONTRAFFIC, for an amount of EUR 260 000) projects are carried out by the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Italy) under administrative arrangements. These two projects provide the appropriate tools in order to support investigations that need data and analyses on trade flows and container movements (current and past), providing more realistic and effective scenarios for joint customs operations. The AMT generates automated alerts for outliers in trade data and can be used to monitor trade flows relevant for intelligence analyses and targeted controls by Member State customs. The AMT has improved authorities’ ability to detect the undervaluation of imported goods and made them more efficient, freeing up human resources and time for other investigation work. However, the AMT is only expected to reach its full potential with improvements that aim at reducing the number of “false positive” alerts. These improvements have only started under the Hercule III Programme and will be continued in 2016. The CONTRAFFIC Single Administrative Document (CONTRAFFIC-SAD) analysis system is a pilot project run by the Commission (OLAF and JRC) in collaboration with customs authorities in Member States. The aim of the project is to evaluate the feasibility and to demonstrate the effectiveness of using Container Status Messages data to identify imports of containerized goods where the origin country is wrongly declared. The project is based on the CONTRAFFIC technology developed at the JRC in collaboration with OLAF over the last 10 years. The administrative arrangement for the CONTRAFFIC project was renewed in 2015 and runs until the end of July 2016. Section 3 contains examples of the results obtained in 2015 with the AMT and CONTRAFFIC tools. Tobacco analyses The work programme provided for financial support to enable Member States' customs to carry out an additional analysis of samples taken from cigarettes and tobacco seizures. Under the Hercule II Programme, these analyses were carried out by a laboratory in Scotland. In 2015, the Commission concluded an administrative arrangement for an amount of EUR 225 000 with the JRC's Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements in Geel (Belgium) for carrying out chemical analyses on samples from tobacco seizures at the request of Member States. Under this new administrative arrangement, it will be possible to extend the number and type of chemical and molecular analyses carried out on samples of tobacco seizures in order to determine its chemical profile and other distinctive features. The information is compared to profiles from a reference database in order to help with the identification of the origin of the seizure and to check the authenticity of the tobacco if customs had any doubts following, for example, the conditions under which the tobacco was traded and seized. The development of the reference database started in 2011 and the number of profiles of both seizures as well as profiles from legally traded tobacco products continued increasing and facilitates the identification of counterfeits or smuggled tobacco. The JRC's expertise in the identification of the authenticity of other agricultural products, such as olive oil or wine, was particularly useful for the enhancement of this reference database and the different types of chemical and molecular analyses. 2.2.3 Conferences, seminars and digital forensic training Conferences organised under grants The training activities supported under the Programme aim at providing grants to beneficiaries in the Member States for the organisation of targeted specialised and risk analysis training workshops, seminars and conferences. This training is also intended to create networks between Member States, candidate countries, other third countries and international public organisations in order to facilitate exchange of information, experience and best practices. The objectives of these activities are: A more effective fight against smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products, via the built in of recognised new methods, enhanced cooperation and networking among police officers and customs officials from different member states, and exchange of experience and knowledge; An enhanced awareness of whistleblowing by supporting legislators in drafting legislation related to whistleblowing and by making recommendations on how to protect whistleblowers and how to investigate their report; Improvement in the prevention and investigation of fraud and other illegal activities by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation, strengthening cross-border co-operation, and facilitating exchange of information, experience and best practice via the creation of networks. Following a Call for Proposals launched in June 2015, the Commission received 42 applications from 16 Member States by the deadline of 29 September 2015. The aggregated budget of the 42 applications amounted to EUR 3.6 million, and the Commission was asked to contribute EUR 2.9 million, whereas only EUR 0.9 was available. The Commission awarded 13 grants for an amount of EUR 870 557, with 29 applications being rejected. Table 5 in Annex 1 gives an overview of the grants and co-financing rate, the beneficiaries and the supported action.

Conferences organised under procurement The Programme also gives financial support for the organisation by the Commission (OLAF) of high-level conferences and ad-hoc training activities focused on protection of the Union’s financial interests. The Commission used the services of one firm specialised in organising events under framework service contracts for the organisation of its conferences. The overall budget for conferences under procurement was EUR 1.1 million. Table 6 in Annex 1 provides an overview of the three events that were procured by the Commission in 2015. The conferences under procurement i.e. the organisation of the Task Group Cigarettes, the training seminar of the OLAF Anti-Fraud Communicators' Network (OAFCN) and training seminars for AFCOS members. Training organised under procurement: Computer forensics training The Commission signed a specific contract for the organisation of twelve digital forensic training courses during a two-week training session in September and October 2015. The training was organised in Zagreb by a service provider under a framework service contract concluded in 2013. The target audience consisted of staff employed by national or regional administrations of the Member States and third countries which promote stronger action to protect the Union's financial interests. The training courses were given by 27 trainers and were attended by 174 participants. The training session consisted of 5 basic and seven specialised and advanced courses in digital forensics designed to enable the participants to improve their skills and competences in tools and software used to retrieve and secure data from computers, tablets, mobile phones or any other digital devices. The courses were developed by an international organisation of computer forensic experts, which also provided the trainers and ensured the quality control. At the end of the training sessions, the participants had to pass an exam to assess the newly acquired skills and competences. Most participants succeeded in passing these tests. The training sessions also gave the participants an opportunity to network and to exchange information and best practices in relation to computer forensic examinations. Overall, the 2015 training costs amounted to EUR 881 523, which included the training itself, accommodation as well as the travel costs for the participants 2.2.4 Legal training and studies The legal training and studies is a part of the training actions which aims at enhancing the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of the Union’s financial interets by promoting comparative law analyses. The following actions are supported: 1.Development of high-profile research activities, including studies in comparative law; 2.Improvement of the cooperation between practitioners and academics (through actions such as conferences, seminars and workshops), including the organisation of the annual meeting of the Presidents of the Associations for European Criminal Law and for the Protection of the Union's financial interests; 3.Awareness raising of the judiciary and other branches of the legal profession for the protection of the financial interests of the Union, including the publication of scientific knowledge concerning the protection of the Union's financial interests. The Commission received 20 applications from 10 Member States by the deadline in September 2015. The aggregated budget of the 20 actions amounted to EUR 1.6 million and the Commission was asked to contribute for an amount of EUR 1.3 million (80% co-funding), where EUR 500 000 was available. The Commission decided to award a grant to 8 applications for an overall amount of EUR 457 200 with an average co-financing rate of 73%. The grants were awarded amongst others for the organisation of conferences on the European Public Prosecutor, investigation and sanctions in the VAT fraud as well as on the publication of a periodical on the protection of the Union’s financial interests. Table 8 in Annex 1 gives an overview of the awarded grants in 2015. 3. Achievements 2015 This section provides an overview of the main results achieved by the Programme’s grant beneficiaries by using the equipment and services purchased with financial support from the Programme. As condition for the final payment, beneficiaries have to submit a final technical report that gives a summary of the achievements of the action for which a grant was provided. The beneficiaries shall report on the contribution the action made to the achievement of the Programme's objectives. For technical assistance grants, information shall be provided on, for example, the number and value of seizures made with the newly purchased equipment, the number of persons under investigation or arrested and an estimate of the (prevented) losses to the national and the Union’s budget. For conferences, seminars and training events, the beneficiaries have to indicate the results of a mandatory survey amongst the participants to measuring the relevance and quality of the event. The final report shall clearly indicate how the action contributed to the achievement of the Programme’s objectives. The report shall also address any problems that occurred during the implementation of the action, such as delays in procurement procedures. This section mainly discusses the results as reported in the final reports of grants that were awarded before 2015, but they will be discussed in the light of the new Programme’s operational objectives. Most of the beneficiaries of technical assistance grants can only report modest results by the closing date of an agreement due to the limited amount of time the technical equipment was operational. For this reason, beneficiaries have to submit a final implementation report one year after the closing date of the action to enable the reporting of substantial reports. This requirement was introduced at the end of the Hercule II Programme (2007-2013), and in 2015, the Commission started receiving the first final implementation reports. Although this requirement is relatively new these reports provide an important insight in how the technical equipment is used and in the results it generates. Some of the final implementation reports are used to illustrate the achievements and contribution to the protection of the financial interests of the EU a year after the finalisation of a project (see the boxes below under the subchapters 3.3 and 3.4). The first final implementation reports vary in detail and quality of information they provide and additional efforts by the beneficiaries are needed to improve the quality of reporting and promptness of submitting final implementation reports. The next sections give detailed information on the achievements in relation to each specific objectives. 3.1Improving the prevention and investigation of fraud and other illegal activities beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation The results of the activities undertaken in all of types of actions contributed to achieving this operational objective. The specialised anti-fraud trainings ensured a far-reaching anti-fraud and anti-corruption campaign across the EU and allowed a wide dissemination of anti-fraud measures affecting the EU's financial interests. The training seminars covered a wide range of disciplines, from fraud prevention and detection to combating the counterfeiting of cigarettes and tobacco and focus on laws and practices to prevent fraud with EU funds.

The main results of these actions are: better understanding of modi operandi and knowledge obtained in the field of preventing and combating fraud detrimental to the EU's financial interests; specific skills in prevention, detection and investigation in the fight against fraud; input for further development and improvement of the activities of national organisations, including legislative work; dissemination of information about the latest developments, methods, techniques in the field of the fight against fraud and corruption; and background information obtained through networks established between organisations. Two examples of conferences and their results finalised 2015 are given below. A comprehensive overview of the finalised training events is given in Annex 1, table 7 (training) and table 9 (legal training). The National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NTCA) organised a conference entitled "Three-day conference and practical training to exchange experience on detection of illicit tobacco shipments and other contraband on road border crossing points of the EU's eastern border". It took place in Debrecen (Hungary) from 20 and 22 October 2015, and was addressed mainly to law enforcement and customs officers from nine Member States (BG, ET, FI, HU, LT, LV, PL, RO and SK), one candidate country (RS) and two third countries (UA, MD). The conference contributed to: • new and strengthened interpersonal relations that facilitate closer and more successful cooperation among the related authorities of different member states and other relevant countries; • an exchange of experience and knowledge in the field of to detect illicit consignments of tobacco, cigarettes and other smuggled goods at the EU’s internal and external borders; • a more effective fight against cigarette smuggling, through the use of of recognised new methods. 3.2Increasing the protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud by facilitating the exchange of information, experiences and best practices, including staff exchanges The Training and Legal training activities in particular contributed to achieving this objective, though the exchange of information through the AMT and CONTRAFFIC tools increasingly support customs in drawing up risk analyses as the basis for their targeted controls. The Romanian Institute for Public Policy organised a conference on the topic of "Effective coordination of control systems for preventing fraud with Structural Funds in New EU Member States", which took place in May 2015 in Bucharest, Romania. The key objective of the conference was to disseminate the results of the comparative study undertaken by the Institute on the control systems for preventing fraud and identifying potential fraud. The event facilitated sharing of experience between the control agencies from Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia in working towards achieving effective mechanisms/procedures for fraud risk assessment, particularly in the area of public procurements carried out in EU funded projects for the new financial cycle (2014 – 2020). The Romanian key institutions involved in combating fraud (DLAF Romania, ministries and prosecutors responsible for investigations of EU funds) agreed to establish a calendar of meetings in order to continue the exchange of information and best practices. The annual AFCOS seminar organised by OLAF took place in Belgrade (Serbia) from 17 to 19 June 2015. The objective was to gather AFCOS representatives from the candidate and potential candidate countries and some of the Member States, to present the work of OLAF and AFCOS, to discuss challenges relevant to mutual cooperation and coordination and to share experience and best practices. It aimed also at improving the operational cooperation between partners, at documenting and sharing anonymous case studies, at recommending specific actions, and at creating a forum for stakeholders' discussions. 3.3Strengthening the fight against fraud and other illegal activities by providing technical and operational support to national investigation, and in particular customs and law enforcement, authorities The Programme provided grants for the purchase of technical equipment to be used by investigation, custom and law enforcement in order to:

ensure better technical equipment across the EU and increasing compatibility to facilitate cross-border cooperation and achieve procurement savings; make efficient use of the equipment acquired; facilitate joint operations and international support for operations; better disclose offences and higher quality evidence used in courts proceedings. The grants also cover expenditure for the maintenance of equipment as well as specific technical training for operational staff to ensure its optimal usage and management. Beneficiaries of technical assistance grants have started reporting in a final implementation report on the results one year after the closing date of the agreement, thus enabling a better overview and understanding of the longer term impact of the Programme. Beneficiaries report for example on the number and amount of cigarettes and tobacco seizures, estimates of the prevented losses to the national and the Union’s budget, the emergence of new fraud schemes, the detection of networks of organised crime (OC) groups or the number of arrests made. This information contributes to improving the transparency of the Programme’s implementation, for as far as this transparency does not endanger on-going operations and investigations, and helps identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Programme’s implementation. The Commission received reports on the implementation of grants that were funded under the Hercule II budgets of previous years. Even though it is difficult and sometime impossible to establish a direct causal relationship between the grant on the one hand and the results achieved with the equipment purchased with financial support from the grant on the other hand, it can certainly be assumed that without the financial support a substantially lower number of arrests, seizures and convictions would have been made. The seizures made with the help of x-rays scanners for example allow for a clear demonstration of this relationship, whereas this relationship is more difficult to demonstrate for support given for the purchase of digital forensics software or devices to monitor vehicles or persons suspected of involvement in illicit activities. The equipment enabled the beneficiary's staff to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the operations they carried out in support of investigations to protect the Union's financial interests, though it remains difficult for some actions to quantify these results for all operations. In other cases, tangible results on the use of Hercule funded equipment can be reported, as shown in the examples below. The examples below demonstrate how tangible and measurable results were achieved thanks to the Hercule funded equipment. Irish customs received a grant from in February 2014 for the procurement of an x-ray scanner, detector dogs (including training and supplies) and static surveillance cameras. These are used at Cork and Dublin Airports, Dublin Port and border areas. The scanner was used to scan 28 000 items in Cork Airport. It led to seizures of more than 200 000 smuggled cigarettes and more than 150 luxury goods for which VAT was not declared. The scans also resulted in seizures of drugs and weapons. The sniffer dogs were used in detecting at least three major consignment of tobacco smuggling, leading to the seizure of around 32 million smuggled cigarettes at Dublin Port. Furthermore, the dogs detected 19 kilograms of cannabis and 15 kilograms of cocaine at the same location. The dogs at Dublin Airport were used more than 1 000 times and enabled the detection of, amongst others, large amounts of cigarettes (130 000 cigarettes) and tobacco, including 2 000 kilograms of unprocessed tobacco. The Lublin Regional Police (Poland) purchased a car, special cameras as well as a computer for processing documents and information. This equipment was needed for surveillance activities along the Polish and Union’s eastern border. The proximity of third countries with low duties on tobacco products makes that smuggling of these goods occurs frequently in the region. The equipment enabled the beneficiary to investigate more than 30 cases involving the Union's financial interests, mostly cases of tobacco smuggling into the EU. The investigations led to the seizure of almost 6 million of cigarettes, almost 10 tons of tobacco leafs and the arrest of 16 persons. Additionally, the equipment was used in operations in support of investigations into suspected fraud with Union subsidies in the structural funds. Examples of procured access to external databases The Commission procured access to external databases for use by law enforcement authorities in the Member States. The trade information, company data or container movements, provide essential operational information for investigators in the Member States and OLAF and are used as input for risk analyses used by customs to target their controls. A commercial database of worldwide trade statistics with aggregated figures is used by both the Member States and OLAF to analyse trade flows, identify potentially suspicious trade and cross-check allegations of customs fraud. A product was being transhipped from a far eastern country via a second far eastern country to the EU. The transhipment was intended to disguise both origin and the type of product. Around 300 containers could not initially be traced. Knowing that the transhipment country recorded the imports/exports and in combination with other information from different sources, the movements could be identified and a substantial amount of revenue recovered. As part of the Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT) suite of results, weighted monthly average prices, known as fair prices, calculated per product, origin and destination, are now being produced on a regular basis. They are based on sound statistical principles. The algorithms used have been peer reviewed and published. The results are now available for Member States to use as they see fit and the methodology is available to anyone for review. One use of the fair prices is in the identification of possible undervaluation at import, with a consequent loss of revenue to the EU. Since customs duty is normally a percentage of value, the use of fair prices can be made in support of risk analyses and investigations, which may prevent losses to the EU budget. Information related to the movements of vessels and containers has contributed to many successful investigations in the context of international cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting and anti-dumping investigations led by Member States authorities. A database providing information on vessels and their movements was used by the Member States customs services involved in controls and risk analyses of goods carried by sea. This tool has played a key role in the analysis of fraud patterns and the identification of sensitive areas in connection with transhipment traffic having a significant impact on the protection of the EU’s financial interests. 3.4Limiting the currently known exposure of the financial interests of the Union to fraud, corruption and other illegal activities with a view to reducing the development of an illegal economy in key risk areas such as organised fraud, including cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting Several actions contributed to achieving this objective in 2015. The widespread availability of illicit tobacco within the EU has led to the loss of considerable tax and duty revenues (losses to the EU and Member States' budgets as a result of cigarette smuggling are estimated to be at least EUR 10 billion per year). One feature of the illicit market for cigarettes in the EU is the significant quantity of counterfeit products available at a lower cost than the genuine products. The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS), a part of the Ministry of Interior, received a grant for the purchase of intelligence equipment for use in VAT-related investigations involving several Member States, as well as other types of financial crimes, affecting either the financial interests of the EU or the national budget. In the project's final implementation report, the beneficiary gave several detailed examples of the investigations carried out with this equipment, such as the detection of a (suspected) fraud of more than EUR 250 000 related to the implementation of a project supported under EU funds. In another example, an organised crime group evaded paying EUR 1 million in VAT duties. The beneficiary reported on several operations where it could not yet quantify the damages to the national and Union's budget, as it was still examining the case, but the amounts involved were expected to be even higher. The examples gave an illustration of fraudulent activities involving persons and groups active in several Member States that led to investigations lasting for a year or even longer. As part of its fight against tobacco smuggling, the Slovak Financial Administration procured technical equipment, such as night vision devices and a waterproof videoscope, which are used to enter cavities (fuel tank of a vehicle, for example) for the detection of hidden goods. The grant also covered maintenance costs as well as training to enable staff to operate the equipment. In its final implementation report, the beneficiary reported on the seizure of more than 2 million of cigarettes and other tobacco products, luxury goods, drugs, etc. Slovakia's Customs Offices and Criminal Office mostly use the equipment in their operations to protect national and EU's financial interests, but it has also been used by other law enforcement agencies. For example, in June 2015, NAKA (national criminal agency) confiscated 25 kilograms of drugs.

20th Task Group Cigarettes Conference organised by OLAF in October 2015 in Bratislava. During 3 days, customs and law enforcement officials from all the Member States, candidate countries, third countries and international organisations were brought together. The objective was to exchange views and information on the smuggling of tobacco products, and to plan future actions to fight against it. This kind of conference encourages Member States to improve operational cooperation by sharing analytical information and intelligence among their customs authorities and relevant EU institutions, bodies, agencies and competent offices. 3.5Enhancing the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud by promoting comparative law analysis This operational objective is mainly achieved through legal training grants that are awarded to comparative law studies, legal conferences and seminars and publications. The conferences were attended by prosecutors, lawyers, investigators, police officers, academics, researchers, national civil servants, as well as members and officials of the EU institutions. The purpose of these conferences and seminars was to promote the dissemination of legal information on the latest developments in the area of fraud prevention and the fight against fraud, and constituted a good forum for discussion of future legislative solutions in the field of the protection of the EU financial interests. The Programme continued funding the publication of “eucrim – The European Criminal Law Associations’ Forum, which was published four times in 2015 by the German Max Planck Institute. This periodical addressed current developments in the protection of the EU's financial interests and the activities of OLAF, the latest developments in relation to the EU criminal policy, threats to the EU internal market and VAT fraud, as well as judicial control of the prosecutors’ activities. It is printed in 2000 copies and distributed to universities, libraries, courts, law enforcement authorities and individual subscribers. The articles are published on the internet as well. 4. Communication The successful implementation of the programme required the further development of a structured way to inform potential beneficiaries of the programme on funding opportunities, and to provide answers to questions from (potential) beneficiaries by means of four different functional email boxes. Moreover, the Commission is required to disseminate information on the achievements and the results of the actions that received funding. 4.1Informing potential applicants Notices concerning the launch of Calls for Proposals were published in the Official Journal and the full texts of the documents were made available on the Commission's website. The professional networks were actively informed. Potential applicants were also informed via e-mails sent to the members of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention (COCOLAF), the OLAF Anti-Fraud Communicators Network (OAFCN) and European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). A short notice of the three Calls was published in "eucrim" issue 2/2015. The training Call was also published in the news section of the e-Justice Portal. 4.2Dissemination of results The dissemination of the results of actions under Hercule programme, in particular technical assistance, is rather sensitive as most of the achievements relate to investigations for which information cannot be disclosed. The dissemination on training activities was made through the distribution of electronic and/or paper reports summarising the event. Some beneficiaries posted the training materials on their websites or created dedicated websites. 4.3Publicity Under the training type of actions, all beneficiaries of grants were requested to mention the support from the Hercule III programme: In every publication (title page) or related material developed (e.g. studies, booklets, newsletters, leaflets); In electronic information (e.g. websites, audio-visual material, videos, software) and; At information events (conferences, seminars); Insert a link from their website to the Hercule III programme's site. The Commission continued its efforts to improve the readability of the website with information on the Hercule Programmes. Beneficiaries of technical assistance grants were requested to mention the Hercule support in their reports and any other document or press release that reported on the results: press releases issued following seizures of counterfeited or smuggled cigarettes made with Hercule funded equipment, for example, should refer to the Union's funding. There is no requirement to include a reference to Hercule funding on equipment purchased with a grant, in particular if this might endanger operations or investigations. 5. Feedback from participants of the programme As indicated in section 3.1, beneficiaries of grants for conferences have to carry out surveys among the participants to collect information on the perceived quality and relevance of the event. The total number of participants to the events in 2015 was almost 1700, who were all requested to fill in an evaluation form with questions on the event’s relevance for their professional activities, the quality of the organisation and the speakers or the venue and other issues. The Commission received 1 401 questionnaires (83% response rate) expressing a high rate of satisfaction: more than 95% of the participants considered the event good or excellent. The feedback also confirmed that the events were attended, in general, by an audience as targeted by the organisers. Moreover, the informal feedback collected by Commission staff attending the events as well as the qualitative comments transmitted in the evaluation forms helped in the identification of issues for improvement, such as conference logistics, prior information on cancellations or the requirement that the trainers have the necessary pedagogical, linguistic and cross-cultural skills.

6. Conclusions and way forward The results above show that the implementation of the Programme in 2015 and the results reported by the beneficiaries of grants were overall successful. The improved reporting on the results has led to a better understanding of the impact of the Union’s interventions and allowed for an increased transparency. The reporting demonstrates the existence of a link between the actions undertaken within the Programme and the protection of the Union’s financial interests, though the modest size of the Programme should be taken into account in this respect. The revised reporting requirements were introduced three years ago and now start yielding interesting findings on the achievements of the Programme, in particular in the technical assistance area. The findings in the final implementation reports will be used for the upcoming mid-term evaluation of the Programme, which is scheduled for the end of 2017. For 2016, the Commission will aim at further enhancing the quality of the reporting on the Programme and it will also simplify and streamline, inasmuch as possible, the administrative procedures that applicants and grant beneficiaries have to comply with to secure funding under the Programme.



Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2015 Financing Decision Table 1 - Technical Assistance grants awarded under the 2015 Financing Decision MS Beneficiary Subject Awarded Grant in Euro Co-fin % 1 NL FIOD-Fiscale Inlichtingen en Opsporingsdienst Upgrade existing monitoring equipment 514 818 80 2 BE Belgian Customs Mobile scanner 1 016 000 80 3 FI Tulli-Finnish Customs Mobile scanner 1 618 800 80 4 FR SNDJ-Service National de Douane Judiciaire High-performance audio and video recording equipment 90 959 80 5 FR Direction Nationale du Renseignement et des Enquêtes douanières Automated Number Plate Recognition System (ANPRS) 150 355 80 6 HU Special Service for National Security – SSNS Monitoring equipment, hard- and software for the collection and analysis of different types of data. 669 870 80 7 LV State Revenue Service – SRS Equipment for the monitoring of communications 391 332 80 8 SE Tull-Swedish Customs Technical equipment and a car for the monitoring of communications 174 178 80 9 RO DNA-National Anti-Corruption Directorate Digital forensic hard- and software 457 382 80 10 LT Customs Upgrade and extension of existing ANPRS 549 252 80 11 LT Customs Criminal Service Digital forensic hard- and software 124 730 80 12 PL Customs Białystok ANPRS for cross-border operations 288 110 80 13 IE Office of the Revenue Commissioners Scanner 999 882 80 14 ES Guardia Civil Extension of monitoring equipment for communications 358 236 80 15 FR DGDDI Mobile scanner 750 000 80 16 PL Customs Chamber Olsztyn Fixed scanner 389 600 80 17 EL Customs-Ministry of Finance ANPRS 639 651 90 Total 9 183 155 81



Table 2 - Technical Assistance grants finalised in 2015 MS Beneficiary Subject Amount paid Amount paid as % to initial commit-ment 1 SE National Bureau of Investigation - NBI Equipment for monitoring communications 199 316 99 2 PL National Police Headquarter Purchase of the Computer Forensics Laboratory equipment for the Central Bureau of Investigation 307 346 98 3 PL Customs Chamber Implementation of the Criminal Analysis in the Customs Service 153 422 83 4 ES Guardia Civil Improving Electronic Undercover Surveillance (IMEUS) 163 499 99 5 LV State Revenue Service of the Republic of Latvia Technical support for the purchase of special technical equipment for customs control 44 986 76 6 PL Ministry of Finance Purchase and modernization of the technical equipment 186 957 88 7 RO General Inspectorate of Romanian Border Police - GIRP Providing equipments for investigation actions for CIT Unit 11 245 100 8 HU Special Service for National Security - SSNS Modernising the technical background of crime detection 192 696 95 9 EE Estonian Tax and Customs Board under the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Estonia Investigation technical support 111 885 82 10 PT Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira - AT - Direção de Serviços de Gestão dos Recursos Financeiros Container scanner for Sines Port 765 070 70 11 EL Directorate General of Customs and Excise - Ministry of Economy and Finance Cigarette detector dogs 28 229 67 12 ES Guardia Civil - GC - Fiscal and Borders Command Sniffer dogs and a mobile x-ray scanners 152 405 94 13 IT Guardia di Finanza H.E.PH.A.E.S.T.U.S – Digital Forensics equipment and software 451 945 90 14 HU Special Service for National Security - SSNS Service Provider Capacity Building: purchase of technical equipment 290 871 85 15 HU Special Service for National Security - SSNS Purchase of GSM monitoring systems 156 313 99 16 LT Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania Strengthening of operational capacities of Lithuanian customs in preventing and detecting of illicit tobacco products flow into the EU 167 718 96 17 SK Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic Purchase of technical equipment for the detection of illicit Consignments of tobacco products 248 723 100 18 PT Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira - AT - Direção de Serviços de Gestão dos Recursos Financeiros Equipment for monitoring vehicles 9 946 100 19 PL Komenda Wojewodzka Policji w Lublinie - KWP w Lublinie Technical support for the Lublin police in the scope of fighting the cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting on the Eastern border of the EU 30 736 63 20 IE Office of the Revenue Commissioners Procurement of equipment 50 355 27 21 SK Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic Purchase of technical equipment for the specialized units of Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic for detecting presence of cigarettes and tobacco 46 713 74 22 RO Brasov County Police Inspectorate Fraud investigations in Braşov County with professional software and equipment 57 821 99 23 RO Brasov County Police Inspectorate Fraud investigation in Brasov County with specialised trained dogs 10 772 97 24 PL Komenda Wojewodzka Policji w Olsztynie Strengthening the operational capacity of the warmia–mazury police through the construction of the system to combat and prevent tobacco related crime. 168 289 94 25 RO Dambovita County Police Inspectorate - DCPI Strengthening the Operational Capacity of Dâmbovita County Police Inspectorate by Purchasing the Latest Technology Used to Combat Fraud 50 593 99 26 LV Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau - KNAB Improving Surveillance and Analytical Capabilities 264 483 97 27 PL Regional Police Headquarters Gdansk Support for the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gdansk for the investigation and evidence collecting process regarding crimes against the financial interests of the EU 123 694 99 28 CY Cyprus Police Tech-Assist Cypol 29 420 100 29 BE Service Public Fédéral Finances - Administration des douanes et accises Technical Assistance to strengthen the capacity of customs in preventing and combating of fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union ("Investigation Support") 2 215 16 30 HU National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary Technical development for a more effective fight against cigarette-related abuses 77 321 85 31 PL Regional Police Headquarters in Lublin - KWP Together safer in Europe - technical assistance for the Lublin police 101 809 85 32 FR French Customs Purchase technical equipment 37 233 88 Total 4 694 296 85



Table 3 – Technical Assistance final Implementation reports received in 2015 (new in 2015) FD MS Beneficiary Subject Results 1 2015 RO Anticorruption General Directorate AGD technical endowment for implementing the provisions of the Joint National Action Plan for preventing and countering tax evasion Substantial improvement of the beneficiary's operational capacity leading to the dismantling of organised crime groups active in activities perpetrated against the Union's financial interests. 2 2015 BE Belgian Customs and Excise Administration Scanners Seizure of large amounts of smuggled cigarettes and drugs. 3 2015 PL Ministry of Finance, Treasury Intelligence Dept. Purchase and modernisation of technical equipment Strengthened operational capacity of the beneficiary enabling the seizure of large amounts of cigarettes, tobacco, drugs, illegal fuel imports. Several arrests and important sum of prevented losses. 4 2015 IT Guardia di Finanza Implementation of Mobile Forensics tools in the fight against frauds Data analyses contributed to investigations into money laundering, VAT evasion, smuggling as well as EU-expenditures. Several arrests made. 5 2015 DE Bundesministerium der Finanzen Scanners Germany Scans of more than 15 000 units, 16 of which were "hits" leading to the seizure of tobacco, drugs, alcohol and more than 6 million cigarettes. 6 2015 HU National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary Strengthening the eastern border section of Hungary: purchase of technical equipment Improvement of the beneficiary's operational capacity in support of investigations, leading to seizure of almost 300 000 boxes of cigarettes, drugs, counterfeited goods, together with the arrest of several suspects. 7 2015 PL Customs Chamber in Olsztyn Purchase of an x-ray scanner and a videoscope Seizure of more than 500 000 cigarettes in 2013-2014 8 2015 HU Special Service for National Security - SSNS Enhancing the efficiency of the fight against smuggling and couterfeiting of tobacco products in the territory of Hungary through strengthening the service provider capacity of SSNS Improvement of the beneficiary's operational capacity that eventually led to the dismantling of Europe's largest illegal tobacco factory, seizures of substantial amounts of smuggled cigarettes as well as the dismantling of illegal car imports and VAT caroussels. 9 2015 HU Special Service for National Security - SSNS Preparing SSNS to meet the new generation requirements 10 2015 FR Laboratoire de Marseille Service commun des Laboratoires Lutte contre la contrebande et la contrefaçon de cigarettes Strengthening of the beneficiary's capacity to carry out analyses on samples from tobacco seizures: comprehensive report on the results to identify the nature and origin of large numbers of cigarettes. 11 2015 HU National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary Strengthening the fight against fraud and cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting at the external border section of Hungary See above: final implementation report covered two actions initiated in different years. Table 4 - Databases that were contracted under the Hercule III budget in 2015 Name Content Commitment in Euro 1 NTELX Information on ship manifests 502 386 2 GTA Global Trade Atlas: trade statistics data 200 000 3 GRS Global Reference Solution: contains basic company information from all over the world and gives information on links between companies 575 000 D&B reporting system Dun & Bradstreet: Financial details of companies all over the world Total committed under 2015 budget 1 277 386

Table 5 – Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants awarded in 2015 MS Beneficiary Subject Commit-ments in Euro Co-fin % 1 IT Presidency of Council of Ministers – Departament of European Policies Cooperation project in the anti-fraud sector – conference and the series of the roundtables 88 572 80 2 IT Italian Carabinieri Operational approaches of fighting frauds in the European agricultural and food sectors 59 676 80 3 UK Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Conference on Organised Crime and illicit Trade in Europe 76 130 80 4 CY European University Cyprus Financial Investigation Coordination in Cyprus 60 909 80 5 PL Polish Guard Headquarters Crime analysis as tool to combat illegal international trade and to fight against smuggling of excise goods aimed at fraud prevention affecting the financial interests of the European Union 80 881 80 6 EL Hellenic School of Judges Fraud against the EU by illegal subsidies in agricultural products and tobacco smuggling 62 681 80 7 CZ Transparency International Towards better Fraud Risk Management in EU funds 32 078 80 8 LT Mykolas Romeris University International anti-fraud training of VAT fraud prevention as EU‘s financial stability support measure 79 135 80 9 HU Transparency International Hungary Knowledge and experience sharing on the use of the red flag signalling tool for cleaner and more transparent EU spending 47 988 80 10 PL Ministry of Finance, Treasury Intelligence Department ‘Chasing beyond borders’ – joint training of Polish Treasury Intelligence and Czech Custom Service 89 978 80 11 RO Ministry of Internal Affairs Enhancing the capacity of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs to prevent and investigate frauds affecting financial interests of the European Union, through training and partnership 60 192 80 12 SK Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic Training focused on increasing the effectiveness of customs controls in the fight against fraud and detection of illegal practices in the smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco and tobacco products at the external border and inland by using available technical and communications means 72 569 80 13 BG National Revenue Agency “Increasing NRA’s administrative capacity in the intra-community trade control by improving the interaction between the EU member states’ administrations in combating tax fraud” 59 768 80 Total 870 557 80 Table 6 – Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences Procured Conferences organised by the Commission in 2015 Dates Conference Title Location No of participants Amount paid in Euro 1 12-15 October 2015 20th Task Group Cigarettes Conference Bratislava Slovakia 90 139 245 Objectives: Discussion on the actual situation of cigarette smuggling and planning future actions to fight against it. Exchange of information, best practices and anti-fraud methods, techniques and modus operandi, Improved operational cooperation with partners 2 2-4 December 2015 13th OAFCN Training Seminar (Bi-annual) Luxembourg Luxembourg 80 72 973 Objectives: Foster communication on fraud prevention 3 17-19 June 2015 AFCOS Seminar Belgrade Serbia 60 78 419 Objectives: To gather AFCOS representatives from the candidate and potential candidate countries and some of the Member States, to present the work of OLAF and AFCOS, to discuss challenges relevant to mutual cooperation and coordination and to share experience and best practices. Total 230 290 637



Table 7 - Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants finalised in 2015 Beneficiary Title Partici pants Total paid Amount paid as % to initial commitment 1 RO Călăraşi County Police Inspectorate Together, fighting against smuggled cigarettes and tobacco 198 11 923 28 2 RO Anticorruption General Directorate Trainings for Anticorruption General Directorate officers on covert audio/video equipment 75 30 899 41 3 CZ General Directorate of Customs Special course for K-9 teams in the area of prevention of tobacco and tobacco product smuggling 35 24 287 49 4 IT Presidency of Council of Ministers, Department of European Policies National anti-fraud database: Computer tool (IT) for prevent fraud against the Union's financial interest with collaboration of the law enforcement staff and with the national and regional authorities 406 56 682 82 5 PL Voivodship Headquarters of the Police in Bialystok - KWP Grants-STOP-Manipulation 106 32 992 72 6 LT Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Lithuania Strengthening of operational capacities of Lithuanian customs in preventing and detecting of illicit tobacco products flow into EU: Operators training on interpretation of images generated by X-Ray scanning devices 21 3 484 41 7 IT Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli X-SAFT: Advanced X-ray Scanner Anti-Fraud Training 85 128 056 77 8 SK Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic Teamwork of customs officers of mobile units in the detection of illegal transport of tobacco products in the Carpathian Euroregion 113 48 682 65 9 LT The Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) Towards more effective cross-border cooperation against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union 38 7 725 72 10 IT Istituto Europeo per lo Sviluppo Socio Economico EU funded actions: rules, laws and best practices sharing in the field of fraud prevention 88 62 572 82 11 IT Agenzia Veneta per i Pagamenti in Agricoltura - Avepa A new leaf - Agricultural networking exchanging witnesses and leading Experiences 294 115 633 98 12 LV State Revenue Service of the Republic of Latvia Seminar on detection and prevention of VAT Fraud 55 12 659 52 TOTAL 1 514 535 592 70



Table 8 - Legal Training & Studies grants awarded in 2015 MS Beneficiary Subject Commit-ments in Euro Co-fin % 1 DE Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science Periodical publication eucrim: The European Criminal Law Associations' Forum - publication of a periodical on the protection of the EU’s financial interests 63 307 80 2 NL Utrecht University, School of Law, Utrech Center for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe/RENFORCE Comparative study Investigatory powers and procedural safeguards: Improving OLAF's legislative framework through a comparison with other EU law enforcement authorities 75 163 80 3 IT Centro di Diritto Penale Europeo Comparative study and workshop Preparing the environment for the EPPO: Fostering mutual trust by improving existing common legal heritage and enhancing common legal understanding. Preliminary study and guidelines for a model "framework curriculum" for legal training of practitioners in the PIF sector 103 976 86 4 IT University of Bologna - Center for Research and Training for the Public Sector - European School of Advanced Fiscal Studies Comparative study and conference Investigations and Sanctions for VAT frauds: Fundamental Principles and Comparison across EU Member States 59 579 80 5 IT Transparency International Italia Comparative study Impact of statute of limitations in corruption cases affecting EU Financial Interests – A European Comparison 43 041 80 6 NL Stichting T.M.C. Asser Instituut Conference High level event on the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO): Legal challenges and remaining questions 31 658 80 7 DE Academy of European Law Conference Annual Forum on Combating Corruption in the EU 2016 - Transnational cooperation between judicial and administrative authorities to better protect the EU’s financial interests 53 477 80 8 ES Institute of Fiscal Studies Comparative study Implementing new measures in the fight against tobacco smuggling 27 000 30 Total 457 201 74