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
Date: 2016-07-14
Institutions: European Anti-Fraud Office, European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, corruption, cross-border cooperation, fight against crime, fraud, fraud against the EU, implementation of the budget, technical cooperation, vocational training

EN 

   EN 

   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} {SWD(2016) 234 final} {SWD(2016) 235 final} {SWD(2016) 236 final} {SWD(2016) 237 final} {SWD(2016) 239 final}  
 
 
1. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 

1.1  Hercule III Programme ................................................................................................ 3 

1.2  Hercule III: eligible actions, beneficiaries and budget ................................................ 3 

1.3 

Purpose and scope of this overview ............................................................................ 4 

2.  Budget implementation in 2015 ...................................................................................................... 5 

2.1  Budget implementation by type of financial intervention ........................................... 5 

2.2  Budget implementation by type of eligible action ....................................................... 7 

2.2.1   Technical Assistance grants ................................................................................. 8 

2.2.2  

IT Support: Databases, IT-tools and analyses of samples from tobacco seizures 9 

2.2.3  Conferences, seminars and digital forensic training ......................................... 10 

2.2.4 

Legal training and studies .................................................................................. 11 

3.  Achievements 2015 ...................................................................................................................... 12 

3.1 
Improving  the  prevention  and  investigation  of  fraud  and  other  illegal  activities 
beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation ....... 13 

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 ............................................................................................................................. 14 

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 ................................................................................................ 14 

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 ................................................................................................................. 16 

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 . 17 

4.  Communication ............................................................................................................................ 18 

4.1 

Informing potential applicants ................................................................................... 18 

4.2  Dissemination of results ............................................................................................ 18 

4.3 

Publicity ..................................................................................................................... 18 

5. 

Feedback from participants of the programme ............................................................................. 19 

6.  Conclusions and way forward ...................................................................................................... 19 

Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised  under the 2015 Financing Decision ................ 20 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

1.1  Hercule 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 basis1 requires the Commission to adopt an annual work programme 
for  the  implementation  of  the  Programme  and  to  submit  a  report2  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 programme3. 

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”4, 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”5. The five operational objectives6 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. 

1.2  Hercule III: eligible actions, beneficiaries and budget   

There are three types of eligible actions7 supported by the Programme: 

1.  “Technical  Assistance”8:  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; 

1  

2  
3  
4  
5  
6  
7  
8  

Regulation  250/2015  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  February  2015,  OJ  L  84  of  20  March  2015.  The 
Regulation entered into force on 21 March 2015 and was applicable from 1 January 2015 onwards. Article 13 of this Regulation 
(Monitoring and Evaluation) requires the Commission “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”. 
Article 13 of Regulation 250/2015.  
The second annual work programme was adopted by Financing Decision C(2015)2234 final of 8 April 2015. 
Article 3 of Regulation 250/2015. 
Article 4 of Regulation 250/2015. 
Article 5 of Regulation 250/2015. 
Article 8 of Regulation 250/2015. 
It  is  important  to  underline  that  “Technical  Assistance”  as  defined  in  Regulation  250/2015  differs  from  the  term  “Technical 
Assistance”  used  in  Article  121  (7)  of  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  1268/2012  of  29  October  on  the  Rules  of 
Application  (RAP)  of  Regulation  966/2012  (Financial  Regulation  -  FR)  ,  which  defines  Technical  Assistance  as  “support  and 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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 beneficiaries9 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 201510. 

1.3  Purpose 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).   

capacity-building  activities  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  a  programme  or  an  action,  in  particular  preparatory, 
management, monitoring, evaluation, audit and control activities”.  
Article 7 of Regulation 250/2015 determines the geographical scope of the Programme. The participation of national and regional 
administrations  from  third  countries  (including  EEA  countries  and  Switzerland)  in  the  Programme  is  subject  to  an  agreement 
between the respective third countries and the Union on the former’s participation in Union Programmes. For the time being, no 
such agreement is in force.  
OJ L 69 of 13 March 2015, p. 1425-1427. 

9  

10  

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
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 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (min. 70%) 
Grants: Cigarettes and Investigation support  Grants 

IT Databases 

Tobacco analysis (JRC) 

IT Data analysis (JRC) 

Procurement 

Procurement 

Procurement 

ANTI-FRAUD TRAINING (max. 25%) 
Grants: Anti-fraud training 

Grants 

Procured conferences  

Digital Forensics Training sessions 

Procurement 

Procurement 

Grants: Legal Training and Studies 

Grants 

Procured study 
OTHER ACTIONS (max. 5%) 
Questions Eurobarometer Survey 

P.M. 

TOTAL 2015 

Procurement 

Procurement 

P.M. 

BUDGET11  COMMIT12 
11 138 180  
 10 250 000 
9 135 794 
8 050 000 

1 450 000 

1 277 386 

225 000 

525 000 

3 650 000  
900 000 

1 100 000 

1 000 000 

500 000 

150 000  
167 100 
125 000 

42 100 

225 000 

500 000 

2 728 624 
870 557 

369 344 

881 523 

457 200 

150 000 
120 638 
120 638 

0 

14 067 100 

13 987 442 

% 
109 
114 

88 

100 

95 

75 
97 

34 

88 

91 

100 
72 
97 

0 

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. 

2.1  Budget implementation by type of financial intervention 

The  Programme  was  implemented  by  making  use  of  public  procurement  (contracts)  and 
grants ("financial interventions"13). The Commission concluded contracts14 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)15,  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). 

11  

12  

13  
14  

15  

The budget corresponds to the Summary Table in the Annual Work Programme 2015 as adopted by the Financing Decision 2015 
(C(2015)2234 of 8 April 2015). 
Commitments cover the total costs in 2015 of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) entered into for operations 
extending over more than one year (Article 7, FR). The total amount for the commitments cannot exceed the budget allocated in 
the Financing Decision. The amounts are rounded. 
Article 10 of Regulation 250/2015. 
In particular Title V of Regulation 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial 
rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (Financial Regulation – FR), OJ L 298 of 26 October 2012. Title V (Articles 
101-120)  determines  the  rules  on  public  procurement,  whereas  Title  VI  (Articles  121-137)  contains  the  rules  in  relation  to  the 
award of grants. The annual work programme was implemented on the basis of the FR and RAP adopted in 2012, even though the 
grants  were  concluded  in  2016,  after  the  entry  into  force  of  Regulation  (EU,  EURATOM)  2015/1929  of  28 October 2015 
amending  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  966/2012  and  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2462  of  30 October 2015, 
amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 1268/2012. 
Article 101 (2) FR. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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  costs16  of  the  action.  In  2015,  the  Commission 
twice used the possibility to award a grant covering 90% of the eligible costs17.  

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  Journal18  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 
applications19  that  were  subsequently  examined  by  three  different  Evaluation  Committees. 
Each  application  was  examined  on  the  basis  of  four  sets  of  criteria20  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  grants21  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 

Budget 2015 (Planned) 

Commitments 2015 (Achieved) 

4 575 000 
33% 

3 523 891 
25% 

9 450 000 
67% 

10 463 551 
75% 

Grants

Procurement

Grants

Procurement

16  
17  

18  
19  
20  
21  

Article 10 (4) of Regulation 250/2015. 
The Commission may award a grant covering up to 90% of the eligible costs in "exceptional and duly justified cases". The annual 
work programme 2015 contained the criteria as required under Article 11 of Regulation 250/2015 for the definition of these cases 
and applicants for a Technical Assistance and a Legal Training grant were given the possibility to indicate whether or not their 
applications should be considered for the maximum co-financing percentage of 90%. The Commission received 99 applications 
for Technical Assistance and Legal Training grants, 29 applicants requested a 90% funding.  
OJ C243 of 24 July 2015, p. 2. 
Technical Assistance: 79; Legal Training: 20 and Training & Conferences: 42. 
Eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria. 
Technical Assistance: 17; Legal Training: 8 and Training & Conferences: 13. 

6 

 
 
 
                                                 
2.2  Budget 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. 

Budget 2015 (Planned) 

Commitments 2015 (Achieved) 

650 000 
5% 

125 000 
1% 

607 200 
5% 

120 638 
1% 

2 121 424 
15% 

8 050 000 
57% 

2 002 386 
14% 

9 135 794 
65% 

3 000 000 
21% 

2 200 000 
16% 

Technical assistance

IT Support

Anti-fraud Training

Legal Training

Other actions

Technical assistance

IT Support

Anti-fraud Training

Legal Training

Other actions

Graph 2: Hercule III budget and commitments in 2015 by type of eligible action 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 

1800

1600

1 

4 

s
d
n
a
s
u
o
h
T

1400

1200

1000

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600

400

200

0

1 

3 

1 

1  2  3 

TA

TRAI

LEGAL

2 

2 

1  3  5 

2 

2 

1  1  1  1  1 

FI PL BE LT IE LV EL NL ES HU SE FR IT RO DE UK SK CY BG CZ MT HR DK EE LU AT PT SI

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 were22: 

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.   

22  

See section 6 of the specifications of the Call: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/policy/hercule-iii/index_en.htm  

8 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
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 million23.  The  average  co-
financing  percentage  for  the  awarded  grants  amounted  to  81%  of  the  eligible  costs24  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  201225  and  201326.  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. 

23   

24  

25  
26  

This amount was higher than the earmarked budget in the annual work programme. At the end of 2015, appropriations that were 
not committed for other types of eligible actions were transferred to technical assistance. 
The  maximum  co-financing percentage is 80%, but the Commission  may award in exceptional and duly justified cases a grant 
covering  up  to  90%  of  the  eligible  costs.  Around  one  third  of  the  applicants  in  2015  applied  for  a  "90%-grant".  Following  a 
careful examination of the reasons put forward by the applicants and taken account of the available budget, only one applicant 
eventually was awarded a grant covering 90% of the eligible costs.  
OLAF/2012/D5/022 for manifest data. 
OLAF/2013/D5/023 for trade data, OLAF/2013/D5/021 and OLAF/2013/D5/022 for company data. 

9 

 
 
                                                 
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-

10 

 
 
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 firm27 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 provider28 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 experts29, 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: 

27 MCI Benelux S.A located in Brussels 
28 Insig2 Ltd, Zagreb, Croatia. 
29 International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS), a US based association   

11 

 
 
                                                 
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 objectives30. 

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 

30  

The final payments were made from payment appropriations made available under the new Programme.  

12 

 
 
                                                 
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. 

3.1 
Improving  the  prevention  and  investigation  of  fraud  and  other  illegal 
activities  beyond  current  levels  by  enhancing  transnational  and  multi-
disciplinary cooperation31 

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 
organisations. 

information  obtained 

through  networks  established  between 

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. 

31  

This operational objective corresponds to the requirements set out in Article 1(2)(a) of Decision 804/2004/EC of 21 April 2004 
establishing  a  Community  action  programme  to  promote  activities  in  the  field  of  the  protection  of  the  Community's  financial 
interests, OJ L 143 of 30 April 2004, as amended by Decision 878/2007/EC of 23 July 2007, OJ L 193 of 25 July 2007. 

13 

 
 
 
                                                 
Increasing  the  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  against 
3.2 
fraud  by  facilitating  the  exchange  of  information,  experiences  and  best 
practices, including staff exchanges32  

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.  

3.3  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, authorities33   

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; 
 
  better disclose offences and higher quality evidence used in courts proceedings. 

facilitate joint operations and international support for operations; 

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 

32  
33  

Article 1(2)(b) and Article 1(a)(a)(iii) of Decision 804/2004/EC. 
Article 1(2)(c) of Decision 804/2004/EC. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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 

15 

 
 
 
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. 

 

3.4  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 counterfeiting34 

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 year35). 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 

34  
35  

Article 1(2)(e) of Decision 804/2004/EC. 
COM(2013)324 final of 6 June 2013: Stepping up the fight against cigarette smuggling and other forms of illicit trade in tobacco 
products – A comprehensive EU strategy. 

16 

 
 
 
                                                 
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. 

3.5  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 analysis36  

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 well37.  

36  
37  

Article 1a (b) (vii) of Decision 804/2004/EC. 
https://eucrim.mpicc.de/index.php 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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 boxes38. Moreover, the Commission is required39 to disseminate information 
on the achievements and the results of the actions that received funding. 

4.1 

Informing potential applicants 

Notices concerning the launch of Calls for Proposals were published in the Official Journal40 
and the full texts of the documents were made available on the Commission's website41. 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.  

4.2  Dissemination 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.  

4.3  Publicity 

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. 

38  

39  

40  
41  

The  four  functional  mailboxes  consist  of  a  general  e-mailbox  for  the  Hercule  III  programme  and  dedicated  email  boxes  for 
Technical Assistance, Anti-fraud Training and Legal Training.   
Article 13 (1) of Regulation 250/2015: The Commission shall on an on-going basis disseminate, including on relevant websites, 
the results of the activities supported under the Programme to increase transparency on the use of the funds”.   
OJ C 227 of 17 July 2015, p. 11. 
http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/funding/index_en.htm. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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.   

19 

 
 
 
 
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 

2 
3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

NL 

FIOD-Fiscale Inlichtingen en 
Opsporingsdienst 
BE  Belgian Customs 
FI 

Tulli-Finnish Customs 
SNDJ-Service National de Douane 
Judiciaire 
Direction Nationale du 
Renseignement et des Enquêtes 
douanières 

FR 

FR 

HU 

Special Service for National 
Security – SSNS 

LV  State Revenue Service – SRS 

Upgrade existing monitoring equipment 

Mobile scanner 
Mobile scanner 
High-performance audio and video recording 
equipment 

Automated Number Plate Recognition System 
(ANPRS) 

Monitoring equipment, hard- and software for 
the collection and analysis of different types of 
data. 
Equipment for the monitoring of 
communications 

SE  Tull-Swedish Customs 

RO 

DNA-National Anti-Corruption 
Directorate 

Technical equipment and a car for the 
monitoring of communications 

Digital forensic hard- and software 

10 

LT  Customs  

Upgrade and extension of existing ANPRS 

11 

LT  Customs Criminal Service 

Digital forensic hard- and software 

12 

PL  Customs Białystok 

ANPRS for cross-border operations 

13 

IE 

Office of the Revenue 
Commissioners 

Scanner 

14 

15 
16 
17 

ES  Guardia Civil 

FR  DGDDI 
PL  Customs Chamber Olsztyn 
EL  Customs-Ministry of Finance 

Extension of monitoring equipment for 
communications 
Mobile scanner 
Fixed scanner 
ANPRS 

514 818 

1 016 000 
1 618 800 

90 959 

80 

80 
80 

80 

150 355 

80 

669 870 

80 

391 332 

80 

174 178 

80 

457 382 

549 252 

124 730 

288 110 

999 882 

358 236 

750 000 
389 600 
639 651 

80 

80 

80 

80 

80 

80 

80 
80 
90 

81 

Total 

9 183 155 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2 - Technical Assistance grants finalised in 2015 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

Amount 
paid 

Amount 
paid as % 
to initial 
commit-
ment42

Equipment for monitoring communications 

199 316 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

SE 

National Bureau of Investigation - 
NBI 

PL  National Police Headquarter 

PL  Customs Chamber 

ES  Guardia Civil 

LV 

State Revenue Service of the 
Republic of Latvia 

PL  Ministry of Finance 

RO 

HU 

EE 

10 

PT 

11 

EL 

12 

ES 

General Inspectorate of Romanian 
Border Police - GIRP 
Special Service for National 
Security - SSNS 
Estonian Tax and Customs Board 
under the Ministry of Finance of 
Republic of Estonia 
Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira 
- AT - Direção de Serviços de 
Gestão dos Recursos Financeiros 
Directorate General of Customs 
and Excise - Ministry of Economy 
and Finance 
Guardia Civil - GC - Fiscal and 
Borders Command 

13 

IT  Guardia di Finanza 

14 

HU 

15 

HU 

16 

LT 

Special Service for National 
Security - SSNS 
Special Service for National 
Security - SSNS 
Customs Department under the 
Ministry of Finance of the 
Republic of Lithuania 

17 

SK 

Financial Directorate of the Slovak 
Republic 

18 

PT 

Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira 
- AT - Direção de Serviços de 
Gestão dos Recursos Financeiros 

19 

PL 

Komenda Wojewodzka Policji w 
Lublinie - KWP w Lublinie 

20 

IE 

Office of the Revenue 
Commissioners 

21 

SK 

Financial Directorate of the Slovak 
Republic 

Purchase of the Computer Forensics Laboratory 
equipment for the Central Bureau of 
Investigation 
Implementation of the Criminal Analysis in the 
Customs Service 
Improving Electronic Undercover Surveillance 
(IMEUS) 
Technical support for the purchase of special 
technical equipment for customs control 
Purchase and modernization of the technical 
equipment 
Providing equipments for investigation actions 
for CIT Unit 
Modernising the technical background of crime 
detection 

Investigation technical support 

99 

98 

83 

99 

76 

88 

307 346 

153 422 

163 499 

44 986 

186 957 

11 245 

100 

192 696 

111 885 

95 

82 

Container scanner for Sines Port 

765 070 

70 

Cigarette detector dogs 

Sniffer dogs and a mobile x-ray scanners 

H.E.PH.A.E.S.T.U.S – Digital Forensics 
equipment and software 
Service Provider Capacity Building: purchase of 
technical equipment 

Purchase of GSM monitoring systems 

Strengthening of operational capacities of 
Lithuanian customs in preventing and detecting 
of illicit tobacco products flow into the EU 
Purchase of technical equipment for the 
detection of illicit Consignments of tobacco 
products 

28 229 

152 405 

451 945 

290 871 

156 313 

167 718 

67 

94 

90 

85 

99 

96 

248 723 

100 

Equipment for monitoring vehicles 

9 946 

100 

Technical support for the Lublin police in the 
scope of fighting the cigarette smuggling and 
counterfeiting on the Eastern border of the EU 

Procurement of equipment 

Purchase of technical equipment for the 
specialized units of Financial Administration of 
the Slovak Republic for detecting presence of 
cigarettes and tobacco 

30 736 

50 355 

63 

27 

46 713 

74 

42 Final payment as percentage of the amount of the grant that was awarded following the examination of the beneficiary's application.  

21 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
22 

RO  Brasov County Police Inspectorate 

23 

RO  Brasov County Police Inspectorate 

24 

PL 

Komenda Wojewodzka Policji w 
Olsztynie 

25 

RO 

Dambovita County Police 
Inspectorate - DCPI 

26 

LV 

Corruption Prevention and 
Combating Bureau - KNAB 

27 

PL 

Regional Police Headquarters 
Gdansk 

28 

CY  Cyprus Police 

Service Public Fédéral Finances - 
Administration des douanes et 
accises 

National Tax and Customs 
Administration of Hungary 
Regional Police Headquarters in 
Lublin - KWP 

29 

BE 

30 

HU 

PL 

31 

32 

FR  French Customs 

Fraud investigations in Braşov County with 
professional software and equipment 
Fraud investigation in Brasov County with 
specialised trained dogs 
Strengthening the operational capacity of the 
warmia–mazury police through the construction 
of the system to combat and prevent tobacco 
related crime.   
Strengthening the Operational Capacity of 
Dâmbovita County Police Inspectorate by 
Purchasing the Latest Technology Used to 
Combat Fraud 
Improving Surveillance and Analytical 
Capabilities 
Support for the Provincial Police Headquarters 
in Gdansk for the investigation and evidence 
collecting process regarding crimes against the 
financial interests of the EU 
Tech-Assist Cypol 
Technical Assistance to strengthen the capacity 
of customs in preventing and combating of fraud 
affecting the financial interests of the Union 
("Investigation Support") 
Technical development for a more effective 
fight against cigarette-related abuses 
Together safer in Europe - technical assistance 
for the Lublin police 
Purchase technical equipment 

57 821 

10 772 

99 

97 

168 289 

94 

50 593 

99 

264 483 

97 

123 694 

99 

29 420 

100 

2 215 

16 

77 321  

101 809 

37 233 

85 

85 

88 

85 

Total  

4 694 296 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 

2 

2015  BE 

Belgian Customs and 
Excise Administration 

Scanners 

3 

2015 

PL 

Ministry of Finance, 
Treasury Intelligence 
Dept. 

Purchase and modernisation of 
technical equipment 

4 

2015 

IT  Guardia di Finanza 

Implementation of Mobile Forensics 
tools in the fight against frauds 

5 

2015  DE 

Bundesministerium der 
Finanzen 

Scanners Germany 

6 

2015  HU 

National Tax and 
Customs Administration 
of Hungary 

Strengthening the eastern border 
section of Hungary: purchase of 
technical equipment 

7 

2015 

PL 

Customs Chamber in 
Olsztyn 

8 

2015  HU 

Special Service for 
National Security - SSNS 

Purchase of an x-ray scanner and a 
videoscope 
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 

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 

to 

into 

VAT 

Several 

large  amounts  of 

Substantial  improvement  of  the 
beneficiary's  operational  capacity 
the  dismantling  of 
leading 
organised  crime  groups  active  in 
activities  perpetrated  against  the 
Union's financial interests. 
Seizure  of 
smuggled cigarettes and drugs. 
Strengthened operational capacity 
of  the  beneficiary  enabling  the 
large  amounts  of 
seizure  of 
cigarettes,  tobacco,  drugs,  illegal 
fuel  imports.  Several  arrests  and 
important 
sum  of  prevented 
losses. 
to 
Data  analyses  contributed 
money 
investigations 
laundering, 
evasion, 
smuggling  as  well  as  EU-
arrests 
expenditures. 
made.  
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. 
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. 
Seizure  of  more  than  500 000 
cigarettes in 2013-2014 
Improvement  of  the  beneficiary's 
that 
operational 
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.  
Strengthening  of  the  beneficiary's 
capacity  to  carry  out  analyses  on 
samples  from  tobacco  seizures: 
comprehensive 
the 
results  to  identify  the  nature  and 
origin  of 
large  numbers  of 
cigarettes. 

report  on 

capacity 

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 
actions 
covered 
initiated in different years. 

two 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 4 - Databases that were contracted under the Hercule III budget in 2015 

Name 

Content 

Commitment in Euro43 

NTELX  

GTA 

GRS 

1 

2 

3 

D&B reporting system 

  Information on ship manifests 

Global Trade Atlas: trade statistics data 

Global Reference Solution: contains 
basic company information from all over 
the world and gives information on links 
between companies 

Dun & Bradstreet: Financial details of 
companies all over the world 

502 386 

200 000 

575 000 

Table 5 – Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants awarded in 2015 

Total committed under 2015 budget 

1 277 386  

MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

1 

2 

3 

4 

IT 

Presidency of Council of Ministers – 
Departament of European Policies 

IT 

Italian Carabinieri 

Cooperation project in the anti-fraud 
sector – conference and the series of the 
roundtables 
Operational approaches of fighting frauds  
in the European agricultural and food 
sectors 
Conference on Organised Crime and 

UK  Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) 

illicit Trade in Europe  

CY 

European University Cyprus 

Cyprus 

Financial Investigation Coordination in 

5 

PL 

Polish Guard Headquarters 

6 

7 

8 

EL  Hellenic School of Judges 

CZ 

Transparency International 

LT  Mykolas Romeris University 

9 

HU 

Transparency International Hungary 

10 

PL 

Ministry of Finance, Treasury 
Intelligence Department 

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  
Fraud against the EU by illegal subsidies 
in agricultural products and tobacco 
smuggling 
Towards better Fraud Risk Management 
in EU funds 
International anti-fraud training of VAT 
fraud prevention as EU‘s financial 
stability support measure 
Knowledge and experience sharing on the 
use of the red flag signalling tool for 
cleaner and more transparent EU 
spending 
‘Chasing beyond borders’ – joint training 
of Polish Treasury Intelligence and Czech 
Custom Service 

Commit-
ments in 
Euro 

Co-fin 
% 

88 572 

80 

59 676 

80 

76 130 

80 

60 909 

80 

80 881 

80 

62 681 

80 

32 078 

80 

79 135 

80 

47 988 

80 

89 978 

80 

43 The commitment made for the NTELX database contains an amount of EUR 101 386 to cover exchange rate fluctuations on the payment of contracts concluded 
in 2014 and 2015. 

24 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
                                                 
 
11 

RO  Ministry of Internal Affairs 

12 

SK 

Financial Directorate of the Slovak 
Republic 

13 

BG  National Revenue Agency 

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 
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 
“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” 

60 192 

80 

72 569 

80 

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 

1 

12-15 October 2015 

20th Task Group Cigarettes 
Conference 

Bratislava 
Slovakia 

No of 
participants 

Amount paid 
in Euro 

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 

Objectives: Foster communication on fraud prevention 

3 

17-19 June 2015 

AFCOS Seminar 

Belgrade 
Serbia 

80 

60 

72 973 

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 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 7 - Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants finalised in 2015 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

1 

2 

RO 

RO 

Călăraşi  County  Police 
Inspectorate 

Anticorruption  General 
Directorate 

3 

CZ 

General  Directorate  of 
Customs 

4 

IT 

5 

PL 

6 

LT 

Presidency  of  Council 
Ministers, 
of 
Department 
of 
European Policies 

Voivodship 
Headquarters  of 
the 
Police  in  Bialystok  - 
KWP 

Customs  Department 
under  the  Ministry  of 
Finance  of  Republic  of 
Lithuania 

7 

IT 

Agenzia delle Dogane e 
dei Monopoli 

8 

SK 

Financial  Directorate  of 
the Slovak Republic 

9 

LT 

10 

IT 

11 

IT 

12 

LV 

The  Financial  Crime 
Investigation 
Service 
(FCIS) 
Istituto  Europeo  per  lo 
Sviluppo 
Socio 
Economico 
Agenzia  Veneta  per  i 
Pagamenti 
in 
Agricoltura - Avepa 
State  Revenue  Service 
the  Republic  of 
of 
Latvia 

Partici 
pants 

Total paid 

198 

11 923  

Amount paid 
as % to 
initial 
commitment
44 

28 

41 

75 

35 

30 899  

24 287  

49 

406 

56 682  

82 

against 

fighting 

smuggled 

Together, 
cigarettes and tobacco 
Trainings 
for  Anticorruption  General 
Directorate  officers  on  covert  audio/video 
equipment  
Special  course  for  K-9  teams    in  the  area 
of  prevention  of  tobacco  and  tobacco 
product smuggling 
National  anti-fraud  database:  Computer 
tool  (IT)  for  prevent  fraud  against  the 
with 
Union's 
collaboration  of  the  law  enforcement  staff 
and  with 
regional 
the  national  and 
authorities 

financial 

interest 

Grants-STOP-Manipulation 

106 

32 992  

72 

training 

EU:  Operators 

Strengthening  of  operational  capacities  of 
in  preventing  and 
Lithuanian  customs 
detecting  of  illicit  tobacco  products  flow 
into 
on 
interpretation  of  images  generated  by  X-
Ray scanning devices  
X-SAFT:  Advanced  X-ray  Scanner  Anti-
Fraud Training 
Teamwork  of  customs  officers  of  mobile 
units in the detection of illegal transport of 
tobacco  products 
the  Carpathian 
in 
Euroregion 
Towards  more  effective  cross-border 
cooperation  against  fraud  affecting  the 
financial interests of the Union 
EU  funded  actions:  rules,  laws  and  best 
practices  sharing  in  the  field  of  fraud 
prevention 
A  new  leaf  -  Agricultural  networking 
exchanging  witnesses 
leading 
Experiences 

and 

21 

3 484  

41 

85 

128 056  

77 

113 

48 682  

65 

38 

88 

7 725  

72 

62 572  

82 

294 

115 633  

98 

Seminar  on  detection  and  prevention  of 
VAT Fraud 

55 

12 659  

TOTAL 

1 514  

535 592  

52 

70 

44 Final payment as percentage of the amount of the grant that was awarded following the examination of the beneficiary's application.  

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Table 8  - Legal Training & Studies grants awarded in 2015 

  MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

1 

DE 

Max Planck Society for the 
Advancement of Science 

2 

NL 

Utrecht  University, School 
of Law, Utrech Center for 
Regulation and 
Enforcement in 
Europe/RENFORCE 

3 

IT 

Centro di Diritto Penale 
Europeo 

4 

IT 

University of Bologna - 
Center for Research and 
Training for the Public 
Sector - European School 
of Advanced Fiscal Studies 

5 

IT 

Transparency International 
Italia 

6 

NL 

Stichting T.M.C. Asser 
Instituut 

7 

DE  Academy of European Law 

8 

ES 

Institute of Fiscal Studies 

Periodical publication  
eucrim: The European Criminal Law 
Associations' Forum - publication of a periodical 
on the protection of the EU’s financial interests 
Comparative study 
Investigatory powers and procedural safeguards: 
Improving OLAF's legislative framework through 
a comparison with other EU law enforcement 
authorities 
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 
Comparative study and conference 
Investigations and Sanctions for VAT frauds: 
Fundamental Principles and Comparison across 
EU Member States 

Comparative study 
Impact of statute of limitations in corruption cases 
affecting EU Financial Interests – A European 
Comparison 
Conference 
High level event on the establishment of a 
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO): 
Legal challenges and remaining questions 
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 
Comparative study 
Implementing new measures in the fight against 
tobacco smuggling 

Commit-
ments in 
Euro 

Co-fin % 

63 307 

80 

75 163 

80 

103 976 

86 

59 579 

80 

43 041 

80 

31 658 

80 

53 477 

80 

27 000 

30 

74 

Total 

457 201 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9  - Legal grants finalised in 2015 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

DE  European Law 

Academy (ERA) 

RO  Association Institute for 
Public Policy  

DE 

FR 

Max Planck Society for 
the Advancement of 
Science 

Association de 
Recherches Pénales 
Européennes 

NL  The Hague University 

of Applied Sciences 

ES  ESADE Foundation 

DE 

Rheinische Friedrich 
Wilhelms University of 
Bonn 

and 

Conference:  
Annual Forum on Combating Corruption 
in the EU 2015: Freezing, Confiscation 
and Handing over of Proceeds of Crime 
Comparative 
conference 
study 
Effective  coordination  of  control  systems 
for preventing fraud with Structural Funds 
in 
New EU Member States 
Periodical publication 
eucrim: The European Criminal Law 
Associations' Forum - periodical on the 
protection of the EU’s financial interests 
Conference 
Le contrôle judiciaire du Parquet européen 
: Nécessité, Modèles, Enjeux  

Seminar 
Negotiated Settlements for Corruption 
offences: A European Perspective 
Comparative study, publication and 
seminar  
Avoiding Fraud in Cohesion Policy 2014-
2020 
Conference  
The European Public prosecutor’s office 
and the prosecutor general in federal states 
– what lessons can the EU learn from the 
Swiss model? 

N° of 
part. 

Total paid 

Amount paid 
as % to initial 
commitment
45 

40 

38 832 

72 

196 

28 122 

61 

N/A 

44 519 

74 

57 

22 209 

71 

15 

18 769  

100 

119 

117 108 

100 

62 

16 577 

64 

Total 

489 

286 136 

81 

45 Final payment as percentage of the amount of the grant that was awarded following the examination of the beneficiary's application.  

28