COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Annual overview with information on the results of the Hercule III Programme in 2016 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 Annual Report 2016
Date: 2017-07-20
Institutions: European Anti-Fraud Office, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, activity report, common strategy, crime, fight against crime, financial control, fraud, fraud against the EU, illicit trade

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.7.2017  SWD(2017) 269 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Annual overview with information on the results of the Hercule III Programme in 2016 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 Annual Report 2016 {COM(2017) 383 final} {SWD(2017) 266 final} {SWD(2017) 267 final} {SWD(2017) 268 final} {SWD(2017) 270 final}  
 
 
1. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 

1.1  Hercule III Programme ................................................................................................ 2 

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

1.3 

Purpose and scope of this overview ............................................................................ 3 

2.  Budget implementation in 2016 ...................................................................................................... 4 

2.1  Budget implementation by type of financial intervention ........................................... 4 

2.2  Budget implementation by type of eligible action ....................................................... 6 

2.2.1   Technical Assistance grants ................................................................................. 7 

2.2.2  

IT Support: Databases, IT-tools and analyses of samples from tobacco seizures 7 

2.2.3  Conferences, seminars and digital forensic training ........................................... 9 

2.2.4 

Legal training and studies .................................................................................. 10 

3.  Achievements 2016 ...................................................................................................................... 10 

3.1  To  improve  the  prevention  and  investigation  of  fraud  and  other  illegal  activities 
beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation ....... 11 

3.2  To  increase  the  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  against  fraud  by 
facilitating  the  exchange  of  information,  experiences  and  best  practices,  including  staff 
exchanges ............................................................................................................................. 12 

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 ................................................................................................ 13 

Examples  of  operational  results  obtained  from  the  use  of  the  AMT  and  CONTRAFFIC- 
SAD tools and the tobacco analyses laboratory (developed with the JRC). ........................ 15 

3.4  To  limit  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 ................................................................................................................. 17 

3.5  To enhance 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 ..................................................................................................................... 19 

5. 

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

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

Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2016 Financing Decision ................. 21 

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 
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 
competent  authorities  in  the  Member  States  to  strengthen  their  operational  and  technical 
capacity to carry out investigations into activities detrimental to the financial interests of the 
Union. The financial support is used for the purchase of technical equipment, such as x-rays 
scanners,  soft-  and  hardware  for  securing  evidence  from  computers  or  smartphones  (digital 
forensics  examinations)  or  the  purchase  and  installation  of  integrated  systems  for  number 
plate  recognition  (Automated  Number  Plate  Recognition  Systems-ANPRS).  To  a  lesser 
extent,  the  Programme  also  serves  to  finance  trainings  and  conferences  for  Member  States' 
authorities. 
The  legal  basis1  of  the  Programme  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  third  annual  overview  of  the  achievements  and  results  and  its  structure  is  based  on  the 
third annual work programme3.  

The  Programme  shall  be  implemented  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No. 
966/20124. 

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 antifraud 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”5, whereas the Programme’s specific objective shall be “to 
prevent and combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial 

1  

2  

3  

4  

5  

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 Regulation 250/2015 (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”.  
The  third  annual  work  programme  was  adopted  by  Financing  Decision  C(2016)868  final  of 
17 February 2016.  The  annual  work  programme  for  2014  and  2015  were  adopted  by  Financing 
Decisions  C(2014)3391  of  26 May 2014  respectively  C(2015)2234  of  8 April 2015.  The  annual 
overviews  for  the  first  two  years  of  the  Programme  were  adopted  as  Commission  Staff  Working 
Documents  SWD(2015)151  final  of  31 July 2015  for  the  year  2014  and  SWD(2016)238  final  of 
14 July 2016 for the year 2015. 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 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,  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2015/1929  of  28 October 2015, 
OJ L 286 of 30 October 2015 and Commission Delegated Regulation 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on 
the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  on  the  financial  rules  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  Union,  OJ  L  362  of 
31 December 2012  (Rules  of  Application  –  RAP),  as  amended  by  Commission  Delegated  Regulation 
(EU) 2015/2462 of 30 October, L 342 of 29 December 2015. 
Article 3 of Regulation 250/2015. 

3 

 
 
 
                                                 
interests of the Union”6. The five operational objectives7 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  achieve  the  operational 
objectives. 

1.2  Hercule III: eligible actions, beneficiaries and budget   

There are three types of eligible actions8 supported by the Programme: 

1.  “Technical  Assistance”9:  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; 

3.  “Any  other  action”:  actions  necessary  for  attaining  the  general,  the  specific  and  the 

operational objectives of the Programme.  

The beneficiaries10 of the Programme are eligible bodies that 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  types  of  beneficiaries  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  funded  under  the  Programme,  such  as  conferences, 
seminars or training sessions, can be considered eligible for funding under certain conditions. 

The budget for the implementation of the Programme in 2016 amounted to EUR 14.5 million 
in  commitment  appropriations  and  EUR 20.1 million  in  payment  appropriations  and  is 
financed under item 24.0201 of the European Union budget for 201611. 

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  2016  work 
programme  (section  2)  as  well  as  the  results  of  actions  that  were  finalised  in  2016,  but 
committed under the Hercule Programmes in previous years (section 3).   

6  
7  
8  

9  

10  

11  

Article 4 of Regulation 250/2015. 
Article 5 of Regulation 250/2015. 
Article  8  of  Regulation  250/2015.  Article  8(a)  lists  7  types  of  actions  for  Technical  Assistance  and 
Article 8(b) lists 7 types of actions for Training. 
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  the  Rules  of  Application,  which  defines 
Technical Assistance as “support and capacity-building activities necessary for the implementation of a 
programme  or  an  action,  in  particular  preparatory,  management,  monitoring,  evaluation,  audit  and 
control activities”.  
Article 6 of Regulation 250/2014. Article 7 of Regulation 250/2015 defines the geographical scope of 
the Programme. The participation of national and regional administrations from non-EU countries, such 
as  EEA  countries,  Switzerland,  candidate  countries  and  European  Neighbourhood  Policy  countries  is 
subject to an agreement between the respective countries and the Union on the former’s participation in 
Union Programmes. For the time being, no such agreement is in force.  
OJ L 48 of 24 February 2016, p. 1454-1455. 

4 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
2. 

Budget implementation in 2016  

The  budget  for  the  implementation  of  the  Programme  amounted  to  EUR  14.5  million  in 
commitment  appropriations.  Table  1  gives  an  overview  of  the  available  budget  and  the 
commitments made in 2016. 

Table 1: Available budget and commitments made in 2016 

TYPES OF ELIGIBLE ACTIONS 2016 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (min. 70%) 
Grants: Cigarettes and Investigation support  Grants 

IT Databases 

IT tools and tobacco analysis (JRC) 

Purchase of technical equipment 

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 

Study: Illicit tobacco trade 
OTHER ACTIONS (max. 5%) 
P.M. 

TOTAL 2016 

Procurement 

P.M. 

BUDGET12  COMMIT13 
11 560 377 
 10 850 000 
9 454 616 
8 800 000 

1 250 000 

1 150 000 

750 000 

50 000 

3 650 000  
900 000 

1 000 000 

950 000 

500 000 

300 000  
42 300 
42 300 

905 791 

49 970 

2 970 823  
900 000 

693 605  

883 811 

493 407 

0 
4 604 
4 604 

% 
106.5 
107.4 

92.0 

120.8 

99.9 

81.4 
100 

69.4 

93.0 

98.7 

0 
10.9 
10.9 

14 542 300 

14 535 805 

99.96 

The information in the table above only relates to commitments made in 2016. The payments 
under  the  grant  agreements  and  most  of  the  contracts  cannot  be  reported  as  most  of  the 
payments will only be made in 2017 and beyond. 

2.1  Budget implementation by type of financial intervention 

The Programme was implemented by making use of public procurement (for contracts) and 
calls  for proposals  (for grants)14. 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)15,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  establish  the  terms 
governing specific contracts to be awarded during a given period. In 2016, the overall amount 
spent on contracts was EUR 3 616 228 (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 10 846 808. Grants are 
awarded following a call for proposals, inviting applicants to submit a proposal for an action 
that contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the Programme. 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 

12  

13  

14  

15  

The budget corresponds to the Summary Table in the Annual Work Programme 2016 as adopted by the 
Financing Decision 2016 (C(2016)868 of 17 February 2016). 
Commitments cover the total costs in 2016 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. Title V of Regulation 966/2012, as amended. 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. 
Article 101 (2) FR. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
costs16  of  the  action  and  up  to  90%  in  exceptional  and  duly  justified  cases.  In  2016,  the 
Commission twice used the possibility to award a grant covering 90% of the eligible costs.  

In  April  2016,  the  Commission  launched  three  calls  for  proposals:  Technical  Assistance, 
Legal Training and Training & Conferences. The deadline for submission of applications was 
set for June  2016. The  Commission  published  a notice  on the calls  in  the Official Journal17 
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  about  the  Programme's  funding  opportunities.  Under  the  three  calls,  the 
Commission received 122 applications18 that were subsequently examined by three different 
Evaluation Committees. Each application was examined on the basis of four sets of criteria19 
that were listed in the technical specifications of the call and ranked on the basis of the scores 
obtained on the award criteria (the fourth set of 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 46 grants20 at the end of 
2016. Tables 10, 11 and 12 provides an overview of the successful and rejected applications, 
broken down by Member State, call, amount requested and awarded grant. 

Graph 1 below gives a breakdown of the budget (planned) and achieved commitments in 2016 
by type of financial intervention (grants and procurement).   

Graph 1: Hercule III budget and commitments in 2016 by type of financial intervention 

Budget 2016 (Planned) 

Commitements 2016 (Achieved) 

4,300,000,   
30% 

3.616.228 
25% 

Grants

Procurement

10,200,000 
70% 

Grants

Procurement

10.846.808 
75% 

16  

17  
18  
19  
20  

Article  10  (4)  of  Regulation  250/2015.  The  annual  work  programme  2016  contained  the  criteria  as 
required under Article 11 of Regulation 250/2014 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 72 applications for Technical Assistance and 22 applications for Legal Training 
grants, 12 applicants for TA grants requested a 90% funding. 
OJ C148 of 27 April 2016, p. 2-7. 
Technical Assistance: 72; Legal Training: 22 and Training & Conferences: 28. 
Eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria. 
Technical Assistance: 23; Legal Training: 10 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 2016 
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 74.6% of the total and the commitments represented 79.9%. 
These percentages are well above  the minimum percentage of 70% 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 2016 by type of eligible action 

Budget 2016 (Planned) 

Commitments 2016 (Achieved) 

3.150.000 
21,66% 

500.000 
3,44%  42,300 
0.29% 

2.406.863 
16,64% 

493.407 
3,41% 

4.604 
0,03% 

2.000.000 
13,75% 

8.850.000 
60,86% 

2.054.791 
14,21% 

9.503.371 
65,71% 

Technical assistance
Anti-fraud Training
Other actions

IT Support
Legal Training

Technical assistance
Anti-fraud Training
Other actions

IT Support
Legal Training

Graph 3 gives an overview of the committed budget as well as the number of awarded grants 
for  technical  assistance  (TA)  and  training  actions  (Antifraud  training,  TRAIN)  and  Legal 
training  (LEGAL)  in  2016.  The  information  is  broken  down  by  Member  State.  The  graph 
shows that grants were awarded to applications from 20 Member States. There were no grants 
awarded to applications from: DK, IE, CY, AT, SI, FI, SE and UK.   

Graph 3: Hercule III commitments (in EUR) and number of grants in 2016 by Member 
State and by sector of activity 

6 

7  1 

1 

1 

3 

1.400.000

1.200.000

1.000.000

800.000

600.000

400.000

200.000

0

1 

1 

3  2  2  4  1  2  1 

LEGAL

TRAIN

TA

2 

2  2  1  1 

RO PL HR EL ES FR HU PT LT BG SK IT MT EE BE LV DE CZ NL LU

7 

 
 
 
 
 
2.2.1   Technical Assistance grants 

The budget for technical assistance grants was EUR 8 800 000. It was available for funding 
actions proposed by national and regional authorities. Examples of actions for which funding 
could be requested were21: 

1.  The  purchase  and  maintenance  of  investigation  tools  and  methods  used  in  the  fight 
against irregularities, fraud and corruption perpetrated against the financial interests of 
the Union, including specialised training needed to operate the investigation tools; 

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  and 
within the Union in order to detect smuggled and counterfeited goods imported into the 
Union  with  the  aim  or  consequence  to  evade  custom  duties  and  excises  (detection 
devices); 

3.  The  purchase,  maintenance  and  interconnection  of  systems  for  the  recognition  of 
vehicle  number  plates  (Automated  Number  Plate  Recognition  Systems  –  ANPRS) 
or container codes for purposes related to the protection of the financial interests of the 
Union, including specialised training needed to operate these systems; 

4.  The  purchase  of  services  to  support  Member  States’  capacity  to  store  and  destroy 

seized cigarettes and tobacco. 

The  Commission  received  72  applications  from  20  Member  States  by  the  deadline  of 
9 June 2016. The total budget of the proposed actions was EUR 36 million and the requested 
financial support amounted to EUR 28 million. This amount exceeded the available budget of 
EUR 8.8 million more than three times. The Evaluation Committee set up for the examination 
of the applications adopted its recommendations in October 2016 and the decision to award a 
grant to 23 applications was adopted end October 2016. All applicants were informed of 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 9.5 million22.  The  average 
co-financing percentage for the awarded grants amounted to 79.4% of the eligible costs23 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.  

21  

22   

23  

See section 2.1 of the specifications of the call: 
 http://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/policy/hercule/hercule-iii_en .  
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.  

8 

 
 
                                                 
OLAF  staff  makes  a  limited  use  of  these  databases  within  the  framework  of  investigations 
that  are  jointly  undertaken  by  OLAF  and  its  partners  in  the  Member  States.  The  databases 
were  purchased  in  2016  by  concluding  specific contracts  under  framework  contracts,  which 
were concluded in 201224 and 201325. Table 4 in Annex I gives an overview of the awarded 
contracts in 2016.  

Development of specific IT tools for data analyses  

Two  projects  for  the  analysis  of  “big  data”  that  were  already  initiated  under  the  Hercule  II 
Programme were continued in 2016. The Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT, for an amount 
of EUR 498 000 for two years) project and a project which follows up the earlier Container 
Traffic  project  (ConTraffic-REG-2,  for  an  amount  of  EUR 222 791)  are  carried  out  by  the 
Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Italy) under administrative arrangements. 

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, 
providing  more realistic and effective scenarios for joint  customs operations.  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.  The 
administrative arrangement for the AMT project has been renewed in 2016 to further develop 
and  implement  specific  statistics  for  analysis  of  trade  data  and  tools  for  the  statistical 
detection  of  patterns  of  fraud  to  support  Member  States,  especially  in  view  of  the  amended 
Regulation (EC) No 515/9726.  

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. This project has evaluated the feasibility and demonstrated the effectiveness 
of using Container Status Messages (CSMs) 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.  The  administrative 
arrangement  for  a  new  project  to  promote  the  systematic  use  of  the  CSMs  based  on  the 
amended  Regulation  (EC)  No  515/97  (ConTraffic-REG-2)  with  the  JRC  was  launched  in 
2016  and  runs  until  the  end  of  2017.  The  aim  of  the  project  is  to  assist  Member  States, 
together  with  the  Commission,  by  providing  support  for  verifying  carriers'  compliance  with 
the obligation to report CSMs to national customs authorities, as well as by providing support 
for the detection of customs fraud through the implementation of an EU-wide system for the 
automatic  and  systematic  origin  verification  of  import  declarations  (SAD)  based  on  CSMs. 
Section  3  contains  examples  of  the  results  obtained  in  2016  with  the  AMT  and  ConTraffic 
tools. 

Tobacco analyses  

The  work  programme  provided  for  financial  support  to  enable  Member  States'  customs  to 
carry  out  an  analysis  of  samples  taken  from  cigarettes  and  tobacco  seizures.  In  2016,  the 
Commission  renewed  the  administrative  arrangement  started  in  2015  for  an  amount  of 
EUR 185 000  with  the  JRC's  Institute  for  Reference  Materials  and  Measurements  in  Geel 

24  
25  
26  

OLAF/2012/D5/022 for manifest data. 
OLAF/2013/D5/020 for trade data, OLAF/2013/D5/021 and OLAF/2013/D5/022 for company data. 
Regulation  (EU)  No  2015/1525  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  September  2015 
amending  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  515/97  on  mutual  assistance  between  the  administrative 
authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the 
correct application of the law on customs and agriculture matters (OJ L 243, 18 September 2015, p. 1). 

9 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
(Belgium) for carrying out chemical analyses on samples from tobacco and cigarettes seizures 
at the request of Member States.  

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. The training activities are also aimed 
at  the  strengthening  of  cross-border  cooperation  and  the  creation  of  networking  activities 
between  experts  and  law  enforcement  staff  to  facilitate  exchange  of  information  on  best 
practices  in  relation  to  the  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union.  The  priority 
topics  addressed  during  seminars  and  conferences  were  defined  in  the  specifications  of  the 
call for proposals launched in April 2016. These topics covered the exchange of experiences 
and  best  practices  between  the  relevant  authorities  on  fraud  issues  or  the  dissemination  of 
knowledge  and  awareness  raising  on  risks  and  red  flags  in,  for  example,  the  area  of  the 
management structural funds. 

The  Commission  received  28  applications  from  13  Member  States  by  the  deadline  of 
23 June 2016.  The  aggregated  budget  of  the  28  applications  amounted  to  EUR  2.7  million, 
and  the  Commission  was  asked  to  contribute  EUR  2.2  million,  whereas  only  EUR 900 000 
was available. The Commission awarded a grant to the 13 highest scoring applications for the 
amount  of  EUR 900 000,  whereas  15  applications  could  not  receive  a  grant  as  their  score 
remained below the threshold needed for a grant. Table 5 in Annex 1 gives an overview of the 
grants and co-financing rate, the beneficiaries and the supported actions. 

Conferences organised under procurement  

In addition to grants, the Programme also gives financial support for the organisation by the 
Commission 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  six  events  that  were  procured  by  the 
Commission  in  2016.  It  should  be  observed  that  two  events  took  place  at  the  beginning  of 
2017:  the  debriefing  of  the  Joint  Customs  Operation  (JCO)  in  Bangkok  (January 2017)  and 
the conference for the evaluation of Regulation 883/2013 in Brussels (March 2017).  

Training organised under procurement: Computer forensics training  

The Commission signed a specific contract for the organisation of a two-week training session 
for  12  different  digital  forensic  training  courses  in  October 2016  for  an  amount  of  almost 
EUR 900 000. The training was organised in Zagreb by a service provider under a framework 
service contract concluded in 2013. The training session is organised for technical staff in law 
enforcement  agencies  that  have  to  secure  evidence  in  a  lawful  manner  from  digital 
information carriers, such as computers, smartphones, tables or network equipment. The two- 
weeks training courses were given by 27 experts and attended by 172 participants per week. 
The  courses  are  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.  

27  

MCI Benelux S.A located in Brussels 

10 

 
 
                                                 
The  training  sessions  also  gave  the  participants  an  opportunity  to  network  and  to  exchange 
information and best practices in relation to computer forensic examinations.  

2.2.4  Legal training and studies 

The legal training and studies are part of the overall training actions and aim at enhancing the 
development  of  the  legal  and  judicial  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  by 
promoting comparative law analyses. In 2016, the Commission awarded grants to applications 
that proposed actions covering the following topics: 

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 such protection. 

The Commission received 22 applications from 12 Member States by the deadline of the call 
for  proposals  on  16 June 2016.  The  aggregated  budget  of  the  22  actions  amounted  to 
EUR 1.7 million  and  the  Commission  was  asked  to  contribute  for  an  amount  of  EUR 1.3 
million (80% co-funding), where only EUR 500 000 was available. The Commission decided 
to award a grant to 10 applications for an overall amount of EUR 493 400 with an average co-
financing rate of 70%.  The grants were  awarded, amongst others, for conducting studies  on 
the preventive role of judiciary in protecting the financial interest of the European Union, the 
liability of legal persons for abuse of EU funds, as well as for 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 2016. 

3. 

Achievements 2016 

This  section  provides  an  overview  of  the  main  results  achieved  by  beneficiaries  by 
implementing the action for which the grant was awarded. Grant beneficiaries have to submit 
a final technical report with an overview of the main achievements as condition for the final 
payment. The report has to show how the results of the action contributed to the achievement 
of  the  objectives  of  the  Programme.  Beneficiaries  of  technical  assistance  grants  shall,  in 
addition to the final technical report, submit a final implementation report one year after the 
closing  date  of  the  action.  This  requirement  has  been  introduced  because  beneficiaries  are 
often not able to report on the achievements at the end of an action: technical assistance grants 
are  awarded  for  the  purchase  and  installation  of  technical  equipment  that,  by  the  end  of  an 
action, has only been operational  for a short period of time. The first tangible results of the 
use  of  technical  equipment,  such  as  the  seizures  of  cigarettes,  arrests  made  of  suspected 
persons  or  estimates  of  prevented  losses  to  the  national  or  the  Union  budget  can  only  be 
reported  upon  several  months  after  the  closing  date  of  the  action  for  which  the  grant  was 
awarded.  

Beneficiaries  of  grants  for  training  activities  (conferences,  seminars  and  training  sessions) 
have to organise a survey among the participants to measure the relevance and quality of the 
event as well as overall user satisfaction. The final report of a training grant has to indicate 
how the action contributed to the achievement of the objectives of the Programme.  

11 

 
 
All beneficiaries (grants and contracts) have to report on any problems encountered during the 
implementation of the action, such as delays in procurement procedures or staff changes. The 
report  has  to  indicate  how  these  problems  were  addressed  and  whether  or  not  the  problems 
eventually  had  an  impact  on  the  outcome  or  the  results.  This  section  mainly  discusses  the 
results of actions that came to an end in 2016, but that were initiated before 2016. The results 
will be examined in the light of the contribution made to the achievement of the operational 
objectives of the Programme. 

3.1  To  improve  the  prevention  and  investigation  of  fraud  and  other  illegal 
activities  beyond  current  levels  by  enhancing  transnational  and  multi-
disciplinary cooperation28 

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  combating  irregularitities  in  the  EU  funds  and  VAT  fraud  to  fight  against 
illigal trade and smuggling, and combating financial crime. A total of 1 256 persons attended 
the anti-fraud trainings and conferences. 1026 feedback questionnaires were received after the 
events; they indicate that 97% of the participants assessed the organised events as 'excellent' 
or 'good'29. Participants seemed to particulary appreciate events that have pratical  impact on 
their daily work. Some participants observed that the lack of direct contact, discussions and 
exchange  of  information  with  participants  from  other  countries,  in  spite  of  the  international 
character of the event, was considered as one of the reasons for expressing dissatisfaction with 
the  event.  The  Commission  will  take  account  of  this  observation  during  the  examination  of 
grant applications to ensure that conferences and training sessions will lead to strengthening 
of  networks  and  the  exchange  of  information  on  best  practices.  To  this  end,  grant 
beneficiaries and contractors for the organisation of these events will be requested to organise 
a "post-event" survey 6 months after the event to assess the mid-term impact of the event.  

Grant beneficiaries often indicated the need for more flexibility during the preparation of an 
event. The administrative requirements before changes to the agenda of an event, the list of 
participants  or  the  venue  could  be  implemented  were  considered  as  burdensome.  The 
Commission  will  adapt  the  forms  for  the  submission  of  grant  applications  to  enable  this 
flexibility and will stress that adjustments cannot modify the purpose of the event for which 
the  grant  was  awarded.  A  further  simplification  of  the  reporting  requirements  will  be 
introduced  as  of  2017,  for  example  by  the  introduction  of  an  electronic  grant  management 
system enabling a smoother and faster reporting on the grant. 

The main results of these actions are: 

 

 

 

28  
29  

Improved  investigation  abilities  of  law  enforcement  officials  involved  in  the 
protection of the financial interests of the European Union through the acquisition of 
new skills, knowledge and competence; 

Increased awareness on fraud risk indicators and EU anti-fraud policy.  

More widespread of specialised methodologies, tools and techniques to fight against 
fraud affecting the Union’s financial interests.  

Article 5 (a) of Regulation 250/2014. 
Participants are asked to give their opinion on several statements, where there replies may vary between 
'excellent', 'good', 'average', 'below average', and 'poor'. 

12 

 
 
 
                                                 
A comprehensive overview of the finalised training events is given in Annex 1, table 7 (anti-
fraud training) and table 9 (legal training).  

The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) organised a 
two-day  conference  in  November  2016,  in  Brussels.  Participants  came  from  police  forces, 
customs authorities and other law-enforcement agencies. Nine Member States: (BE, FR, EL, 
IT, NL, PL, RO, ES and UK)  were represented to  assess the scale and scope of illicit trade 
across the region and the extent of organised criminal involvement.  
The conference played a part in: 
sharing experience between the member states;  
- 
- 
strengthening  the  position  of  customs  and  other  law  enforcement  practitioners  to 
design and implement more effective strategies and tactics to combat illicit trade, which will 
ultimately help EU member states to reduce both the harm caused by criminal groups and the 
financial burden of lost revenue associated with illicit trade;  
- 
establishing close relationships between the customs and law enforcement agencies of 
participant  countries,  as  well  as  between  these  agencies,  academics  and  private  sector 
organisations across the three sectors of tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical products. 

3.2  To  increase  the  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  against 
fraud  by  facilitating  the  exchange  of  information,  experiences  and  best 
practices, including staff exchanges30  

The anti-fraud and legal training activities in particular contributed to achieving this objective, 
though  the  exchange  of  information  through  the  AMT  and  CONTRAFFIC  tools  which 
increasingly  support  customs  in  drawing  up  risk  analyses  as  the  basis  for  their  targeted 
controls.   

The  Dutch  "Asser"  Institute  organised  a  conference  on  the  topic  "The  establishment  of  a 
European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO)  -  Legal  challenges  and  remaining  questions", 
which took place in July 2016 in the Hague. The key objective of the conference was to bring 
together legal scholars and legal practitioners in order to discuss the legislative framework for 
the establishment of the EPPO and to take stock of the main elements of the EPPO legislative 
framework,  including:  the  constitutional  dimensions  of  the  legislative  framework,  questions 
related  to  the  competences  and  organisational  make-up  of  the  office,  cooperation  relations 
with OLAF and Eurojust and specific criminal law issues. The event facilitated the exchange 
of  concepts  and  ideas  and  the  event's  design  (panels  and  sessions  covering  the  specified 
topics,  alternated  by  discussion  intervals)  made  it  possible  to  obtain  fruitful  ideas  and 
suggestions. 

The annual AFCOS seminar organised by OLAF took place in Tirana (Albania) from 1st to 
3rd of June 2016.  
Its  mains  objectives  were  to:  (1)  bring  together  AFCOS  and  other  relevant  authorities  from 
Candidate Countries, potential Candidate Countries, as well as Eastern Partnership Countries, 
with whom the EU has concluded association agreements, in order to (2) present the work of 
OLAF and AFCOS authorities, to (3) discuss challenges in their cooperation, and to (4) share 
best practices and experience in the areas of the protection of the EU's financial interests and 
fight against fraud. 
The seminar's impact was:  

30  

Article 5 (b) of Regulation 250/2014. 

13 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
improved cooperation and coordination between OLAF and enlargement/ Eastern 

a better understanding among participants of OLAF's mandate, legal framework and 

-   
practices, as well as of the obligations regarding the protection of the EU's financial interests;  
-  
Partnership countries in carrying out investigative activities;  
- 
strategies;  
- 
(IMS). 

improved  reporting  of  irregularities  through  the  Irregularity  Management  System 

Candidate Countries taking steps in preparing and adopting national antifraud 

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, authorities31   

Beneficiaries received grants for the purchase of technical equipment in order to: 

a)  Strengthen  the  operational  and  investigative  capacity  by  improving  the  quality, 
efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  technical  hardware  and  technical  support  used  in 
detecting and monitoring any illegal activity affecting the EU budget. It aims at a faster 
and more efficient detection of e.g. smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, illicit goods or the 
identification of new fraud schemes and modi operandi; 

b)  improve  skills  and  qualifications  of  the  beneficiary's  staff  that  tasked  with  the  daily 

operations of the new equipment; 

c)  improve  the  quality  of  evidence  gathered  during  operations  in  support  of  fraud 
investigations. The improvements should speed-up legal proceedings in Member States 
and to reduce the number of dismissals during the prosecution or trial stages. 

The  grants  can  also  cover  the  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 send 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  and  Hercule  III  budgets  of  previous  years.  Even  though  it  is  difficult  and 
sometimes 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  nevertheless  enables  the 
beneficiaries to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the operations they carry 
out  in  support  of  investigations  to  protect  the  Union's  financial  interests,  as  shown  in  the 
examples below. 

31  

Article 5 (c) of Regulation 250/2014. 

14 

 
 
 
                                                 
French customs finalized a project in 2016 where a grant for the purchase of digital forensic 
equipment  was  used  during  operations  in  support  of  investigations  into  the  smuggling  of 
cigarettes, tobacco and drugs as well as the identification of VAT-carrousels. The beneficiary 
managed to put the equipment in use in a fairly short period of time and to seize substantial 
amounts of cigarettes (three tons) in Calais that were ready for illegal shipment into the UK.  

The Romanian National anti-corruption directorate within the Prosecutor's Office attached to 
the  High  Court  finalized  the  implementation  of  an  action  consisting  of  the  purchase  of 
investigation tools, such as recording devices and digital forensic soft- and hardware. These 
tools  were  primarily  used  for  monitoring  suspects  during  operations  and  investigations  into 
irregularities  and  corruption  perpetrated  against  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union.  The 
operations eventually led to detection of documents that were falsified in order to obtain EU 
funds for an amount of almost EUR 4.8 million. A second operation into similar allegations 
led  to  the  detection  of  irregularities  amounting  to  EUR 2.7  million.  The  latter  could  be 
established as the result of the digital forensic hard- and software and the subsequent analyses 
that  could  be  made  on  the  data  that  were  retrieved  from  seized  devices.  The  substantial 
amounts  that  were  detected  during  the  operations  demonstrate  that  a  modest  financial 
contribution enables substantial results and provides a clear demonstration of the contribution 
made to the achievement of the objectives of the Programme. 

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 databases containing trade information, company data or container 
movements  provide  essential  operational  information  for  joint  investigations  of  Member 
States'  law  enforcement  agencies  and  OLAF.  The  databases  also  provide  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 (imports and exports), identify 
potentially  suspicious  trade  and  cross-check  allegations  of  customs  fraud.  The  statistics 
database  is  an  essential  part  of  a  risk  analysis  system  and  is  in  regular  use  by  customs 
analysts  and  investigators,  enabling  them  to  confirm  or  remove  any  doubts  about 
misdescription  of  origin  declared  of  goods  imported  into  the  EU  and  circumvention  of 
antidumping duties.  

Trade  statistics  data  are  used  by  a  Member  State  customs  service  in  a  system  of  reference 
prices,  which  aims  to  fight  undervaluation  of  textile  products  from  China.  The  so  called 
reference  price  calculated  through  an  automated  risk  analysis  system,  and  also  taking  into 
account other information (such as the AMT cleaned average prices), is an indication for a 
customs  officer  conducting  clearance  that  a  price  is  suspiciously  low  and  that  the  customs 
value  should  be  questioned.  As  direct  effects  of  using  that  system,  in  a  series  of  customs 
proceedings since 2014 the customs service was able to recover customs duties and VAT. As 
indirect effects of a preventive nature, the reference price system led to significant increase 
of  customs  values  declared  and  therefore  increased  amount  of  customs  duties  and  VAT 
collected.  

Databases with information on companies are very useful tools in the investigations carried 
out  by  customs  in  the  fight  against  fraud  that  affect  the  financial  interests  of  the  EU, 
including smuggling of counterfeit goods and cigarettes, leading to seizures. One operation, 
for example, led to the seizure of a large quantity of tobacco with a significant value. Another 
operation revealed a tax fraud on undervaluation of goods and false invoices.  

15 

 
 
Customs investigation offices in one Member State have recently investigated a large-scale 
smuggling of counterfeit textiles and perfumes, as well as of tobacco products, cooperating 
with  the  authorities  in  several  countries.  This  led  to  large  seizures  with  a  significant 
estimated amount of evaded duties and taxes and several individuals charged.  

Following  information  from  different  sources  and  checks  of  companies  on  the  database, 
customs  officers  found  and  seized  containers  with  large  quantities  of  untaxed  cigarettes 
imported into the EU in several cases, and thus prevented significant potential losses of tax 
revenue.  

Examples  of  operational  results  obtained  from  the  use  of  the  AMT  and 
CONTRAFFIC- SAD tools and the tobacco analyses laboratory (developed with 
the JRC). 

The Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT) is used as part of a suite of risk analysis tools by 
the  Member  States  customs  for  risk  management  purposes.  The  signals  produced  by  the 
AMT tool using analysis of trade data allow the Member States and OLAF to identify new 
cases of potential fraud. Estimates for EU import prices for any product, country of origin 
and Member State of destination, known as cleaned average prices, are being produced on 
the basis of sound statistical principles which make them suitable reference EU prices for 
the determination of the customs value of imported goods. Member States customs use the 
estimated  cleaned  average  prices,  for  example,  in  a-posteriori  controls  where  they  have 
doubts concerning the declared customs value of the goods, for the detection of value based 
irregularities related to the imported goods. In particular, the use of cleaned average prices 
has  helped  with  more  effective  targeting  of  possible  undervaluation  and  thus  helped  to 
reduce fraud, for example:  

-  In  2016,  a  joint  customs  operation  was  conducted  by  several  Member  States  customs 
authorities  and  targeted  criminal  networks  for  importing  textile  and  footwear  from  China 
into  one  Member  State.  The  operation  found  that  several  of  the  trucks  controlled 
participated  in  fraud  circuits,  five  criminal  networks  were  identified  and  several  shell 
companies were closed in several countries. The value of imported goods was significantly 
understated, leading to substantial losses to the EU and Member States' budgets in customs 
duties  and  taxes.  The  operation  determined  that  significant  value  frauds  were  committed 
during  customs  clearance  in  the  Member  State  of  importation  (undervaluation)  and  were 
prolonged by non-payment of VAT in the countries of destination. This also revealed that 
these  large-scale  frauds  were  the  result  of  very  organized  circuits,  extremely  reactive  and 
having  an  excellent  knowledge  of  the  faults  of  controls,  logistic  circuits,  false  invoice 
systems and clandestine financial flows. 

- Another operation took place in 2016 and was carried out by the customs authorities of 23 
EU  Member  States  in  close  cooperation  with  the  tax  authorities.  It  targeted  goods 
originating from non-EU countries imported into one Member State and released into free 
circulation. More than 200 physical controls, 390 documentary controls and 50 on-the-spot 
checks  were  made  during  the  operational  phase.  This  led  to  customs  officers  uncovering 
several  instances  of  undervaluation  and  misclassification  of  goods  at  import,  as  well  as  a 
string of missing traders who "disappeared" in order to evade customs duties and VAT. 

-  A  Member  State  has  recently  used  THESEUS  tools  as  part  of  an  exercise  to  target 
potentially  undervalued  goods.  The  results  revealed  undervaluation  for  customs  purposes 
but  also  for  other  tax  related  reasons.  The  potential  revenue  at  risk  is  of  an  order  of 
magnitude of millions of euros. 

16 

 
 
 
The ConTraffic system has been developed to provide for an automatic cross-checking of 
the origin declared by importers in the Single Administrative Documents (SAD), supporting 
Member  States  customs  authorities  in  the  detection  of  potentially  fraudulent  declarations 
and  in  the  validation  of  investigative  results.  The  ConTraffic  tool  gathers  systematically 
container  movements'  data  (Container  Status  Messages)  and  provides  Member  States  and 
OLAF  analysis  facilities  to  better  target  suspicious  or  anomalous  movements  and  thus 
better detect customs fraud. The system analyses the SAD customs declarations related to 
cargo  containers  imported  into  the  EU  by  sea,  submitted  by  participating  Member  States 
customs,  in  view  of  identifying  new  cases  of  customs  fraud  involving  misdeclarations  of 
origin. As a result of this type of analysis, fraud signals related to potential misdeclarations 
of  origin  were  generated  and  reported  to  the  participating  Member  States.  The  identified 
signals are used by the Member States customs, for example, in support of the risk analysis 
and of the decision whether to open an investigation or control the documents.  

By  June  2016,  the  SAD  data  analysis  facility  was  used  by  11  Member  States  customs 
sending  their  data  to  the  JRC  systematically  and  receiving  signals  in  return  (out  of  12 
Member  States  that  joined  the  project).  About  50  million  SAD  declarations  from  12 
Member States customs have been analysed over a period of 6 years and 1 300 signals of 
possible  fraud  cases  were  generated  and  communicated  to  Member  States  customs  for 
further investigation.  

A  Member  State  customs  service  has  reported  that  46  investigation  cases  were  opened 
based  on  the  fraud  signals  reported  by  ConTraffic-SAD  in  the  period  2013-2016,  which 
revealed  misdeclarations  of  origin  related  to,  for  example,  the  import  of  goods  claiming 
lower duties applicable to a third country under preferential trade agreements:  

- One of the positive investigations resulted in EUR 26 000 of duties recovery and a fine of 
approximately EUR 130 000. It was related to the importation of tableware from China that 
has been declared with Taiwanese origin.  

- Another success story of detecting an abuse of preferential trade agreements relates to the 
importation of polyethylene from Thailand, whereas it was declared as coming from South 
Korea.  

A  laboratory  for  testing  tobacco  at  JRC-Geel  facility  was  set  up  and  became  operational  as 
from April 2016. A dedicated IT module on the OLAF AFIS platform for handling requests 
for testing has become operational in June 2016. JRC implemented and optimized analytical 
methods for the different types of chemical and molecular analyses carried out on samples of 
tobacco  seizures  in  order  to  determine  their  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 has any doubts following, for example, the conditions under which the tobacco was 
traded  and  seized.  The  reference  database  has  been  enhanced  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.  Testing  of  15  seized 
cigarette  samples  was  carried  out  during  2016.  The  developed  analytical  methods  are 
promising  for  discriminating  counterfeit  from  genuine  tobacco  products  and  well  suited  for 
contributing to forensic investigations aimed at dismantling of criminal networks.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
3.4  To  limit  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 counterfeiting32 

Several actions contributed to achieving this objective in 2016. 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 year33). 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  Bulgarian  National  Customs  Agency  finalized  an  action  that  consisted  of  setting  up  a 
network  enabling  the  connection  of  32  fixed  and  10  mobile  x-ray  scanners  in  different 
location in Bulgaria. The scanners are used for the examination of vehicles and the network 
enables  a  remote  examination  of  the  images  generated  by  the  scanners.  The  remote 
examination  of  images  generated  by  scanners  operated  in  different  locations  improves  the 
beneficiary's ability to monitor suspect transport movements through the country. The action 
included training activities for the beneficiary's staff that operate the scanners.   

OLAF  organised  the  21st  Task  Group  Cigarettes  Conference  in  June-July  2016  in  Riga 
with the participation of the World Customs Organisation and EUROPOL-EUBAM. During 
three  days,  94  customs  and  law  enforcement  officials  from  all  the  Member  States,  one 
candidate country and seven third countries shared their views and best practices on the fight 
against  illegal  cigarette  smuggling.  Many  law  enforcement  authorities  presented  their 
operations  based  on  the  information  provided  by  OLAF  or  conducted  with  the  support  of 
OLAF, with a particular focus on OLAF's added value to the national investigations. 
The event contributed to the mutual trust and awareness between investigators, not only on a 
vertical level (OLAF – national authorities) but also on the horizontal level (between different 
national  authorities  with  OLAF's  key  participation).  In  this  sense,  the  participation  of  third 
countries  is  considered  as  being  strategic  in  the  fight  against  cigarette  smuggling.  The 
conference  conclusions  underlined  the  need  for  international  cooperation  to  counter  the 
smuggling of cigarettes which has a significant impact on the budgets of both the EU and its 
Member States.   

3.5  To  enhance  the  degree  of  development  of  the  specific  legal  and  judicial 
protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  against  fraud  by  promoting 
comparative law analysis34  

This operational objective is mainly achieved through legal training grants that are awarded 
for  comparative  law  studies,  legal  conferences,  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 

32  
33  

34  

Article 5 (d) of Regulation 250/2014. 
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. 
Article 5(e) of Regulation 250/2014. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
EU financial interests. The satisfaction rate of the participants, expressed through the filled-in 
evaluation forms, was at around 90% for the legal conferences organised in 2016.  

The Programme continued funding the publication of “eucrim – The European Criminal Law 
Associations’  Forum",  which was published four times  in  2016 by the German Max  Planck 
Institute.  This  periodical  addressed  current  developments  in  the  protection  of  the  EU's 
financial interests, the activities of OLAF, the latest policy and legal developments in relation 
to procedural rights and judicial cooperation, or the fight against money laundering in the EU. 
Each  issue  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 well35.  

4. 

Communication  

The  successful  implementation  of  the  programme  required  a  structured  way  to  inform 
potential  beneficiaries  on  funding  opportunities,  and  to  provide  answers  to  questions  from 
(potential)  beneficiaries  by  means  of  four  different  functional  email  boxes36.  Moreover,  the 
Commission is required37 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 Journal38 
and the full texts of the documents were made available on the Commission's website39. 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 2/2016. 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.  The reports of 
studies funded under grants40 are made available via the Commission's website 

35  
36  

37  

38  
39  
40  

https://eucrim.mpicc.de/   
The  four  functional  mailboxes  consist  of  a  general  e-mailbox  for  the  Hercule  III  programme  and 
dedicated email boxes for Technical Assistance, Antifraud 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 148 of 27 April 2016, p. 2-7. 
 http://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/policy/hercule_en  
The  products  and  services  purchased  with  the  help  of  a  grant  remain  the  property  of  the  beneficiary. 
The Commission however requires that an electronic copy of a study or proceedings are made available 
for publication on (or linked via) the Commission's website. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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); 

 
  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  trainings,  conferences  and  seminars 
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 2016 was 
1725,  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 aspects. The Commission received 1 200 questionnaires (70% response 
rate) expressing a high level of satisfaction: more than 93% of the participants considered the 
event  good  or  excellent.  The  feedback  also  confirmed  that  the  events  were  attended,  in 
general, by an audience as initially targeted by the organisers.  

The qualitative comments transmitted by participants in the evaluation forms, as well as the 
feedback collected from Commission staff attending the events helped in identifying areas for 
improvement,  such  as  the  exchange  of  information  with  participants  from  other  countries, 
more  practical/hands-on  dimension  of  the  events,  conference  logistics,  prior  information  on 
cancellations  or  the  presence  of  trainers  having  the  necessary  pedagogical,  linguistic  and 
cross-cultural skills. All the above-mentioned aspects raised by the participants are taken into 
consideration  and  monitored  in  the  on-going,  as  well  as  the  future  Hercule  III  co-financed 
actions.  

6. 

Conclusions and way forward 

The  results  above  show  that  the  implementation  of  the  Programme  in  2016  was  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  increased  transparency.  These  results 
show  the  that  the  actions  undertaken  with  support  from  the  Programme  contributed  to  the 
protection of the financial interests of the Union and contributed to the prevention and fight 
against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the 
Union, though the modest size of the Programme should be taken into account in this respect. 
The  findings  in  the  final  implementation  reports  will  be  used  for  the  on-going  mid-term 

20 

 
 
 
 
evaluation  of  the  Programme  and  will  be  used  for  the  Report  that  the  Commission  will 
transmit to the European Parliament and to the Council by the end of 201741. 

From 2017 onwards, the Commission will ask beneficiaries of training grants and contracts to 
carry out a "post-event" survey among the participants of a conference, seminar or training in 
order to assess to which extent newly acquired skills and qualifications are put in practice and 
whether networking activities could be carried out after the event.  
In 2017, the Commission will start using the Participant Portal42 for the electronic submission 
of  applications  and  the  management  of  grants  under  the  Hercule  III  Programme.  The 
Participant  Portal  is  an  IT  application  developed  for  the  management  of  research  grants 
awarded under Research and Innovation programmes  managed by the Commission and will 
now  gradually  extended  to  most  of  the  Commission's  funding  programmes  under  direct 
management. The electronic submission and processing of applications is expected to shorten 
considerably the time for notifying applicants on the outcome of the evaluation procedure and 
is  expected  to  reduce  the  administrative  burden  for  applicants,  grant  beneficiaries  and  the 
Commission.  

41  
42  

Article 31 of Regulation 205/2015  
See: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/herc/index.html  

21 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2016 Financing Decision 

Table 1 - Technical Assistance grants awarded under the 2016 Financing Decision 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

EE  Estonian Tax and Customs Board 

Portable X-Ray 

RO 

Anti-Corruption General 
Directorate  

PL  Border Guard Maritime Division 

Increasing efficiency in investigating and 
combating corruption  
Purchase mobile x-rays scanners 

PT  General Prosecutor of the Republic 

Forensic Computer Lab 

FR 

Service national de douane 
judiciaire (SNDJ) 

Surveillance equipment 

Awarded 
Grant in Euro 

Co-fin 
% 

100 198 

139 030 

116 558 

548 701 

80 

80 

80 

80 

121 170 

80 

ES  AEAT-Customs 

Video surveillance equipment 

380 800 

80 

LT 

Financial Crime Investigation 
Service FCIS 

Procurement of intelligence equipment 

100 650 

79.6 

LV  Latvian State Police 

Strengthening the technical capacity  

110 482 

80 

EL  GSAC-AFCOS 

Purchase x-ray scanner 

10 

PL  National Police Headquarters 

Strengthening the investigative capacity 

11 

PL 

12  RO 

13 

LT 

Ministry of Finance, Treasury 
Intelligence Department 
National Anti-Corruption 
Directorate - PNA Prosecutors' 
office 
Special Investigation Service of the 
Republic of Lithuania 

Purchase of technical equipment 

Consolidating of the investigative capacity  

870 527 

80 

Purchase of special technical equipment 

14 

FR  Douane - DNRED 

Purchase of interception equipment 

FR 

Forensic and Criminal Intelligence 
Agency of the French Gendarmerie 
(PJGN) 
ES  Guardia Civil 
EE  Estonian National Police 

15 

16 
17 

18  HR 

Croatian Ministry of Finance - 
Customs 

19 

BE  Belgian National Police 

20 

SK 

Financial Directorate of the Slovak 
Republic 
21  BG  Bulgarian Border Police 
22  MT  Malta Customs Department 
23  HU  National Tax and Customs Board 

Acquisition of digital forensic equipment 

Purchase of scanners and monitoring devices 
Creation of criminal analysis platform 

Purchase mobile x-ray scanner 

Enhancing the fight against EU financial fraud 
Purchase of digital forensics equipment and 
software 
Enhancing technical capacity 
Enhancing technical capacity 
Technical capacity development  

Total 

1 107 200 

546 548 

284 834 

80 

80 

80 

255 235 

408 000 

344 847 

614 624 
192 040 

1 200 000 

290 568 

80 

80 

80 

80 
80 

80 

80 

330 684 

66.7 

347 478 
331 262 
711 965 
9 453 40143 

80 
80 
80 
79.4 

43  

This amount is EUR 1 215 lower than in Table 1 on page 4 due to corrections made for grants awarded in 2015. 
22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
Table 2 - Technical Assistance grants finalised in 2016 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

Amount 
paid 

MT  Maltese Customs Department 
ES  Guardia Civil  

Purchase of mobile scanner 
Improving electronic undercover surveillance 

584 000 
253 318 

Amount 
paid as % 
to initial 
commit-
ment44
100 
76.6 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

FR 

FR 

RO 

FR 

Direction Interrégionale des 
douanes d'Antilles Guyane 
Direction Nationale du 
Renseignement des Enquêtes 
Douanières 
General Inspectorate of the 
Romanian Police 
Direction générale des douanes et 
droits indirects 

LV  State Revenue Service 

NL 

ES 

Fiscale Inlichtingen - en 
Opsporingsdienst 
Guardia Civil, Fiscal and Borders 
Command 

10 

FR  Service Commun des Laboratoires 

11 

12 

13 

14 

BG  National Customs Agency 
Corruption Prevention and 
Combating Bureau of the Republic 
of Latvia 

LV 

PT  Polícia Judiciária Lisbon 

PL 

Ministry of Finance, Polish 
Customs Service 

15 

PL  Customs Chamber Opole 

16 

LT 

17 

RO 

18 

FR 

19 

BE 

20 

RO 

Financial Crime Investigation 
Service  
Ministry of Internal Affairs, 
County Police Inspectorate Bistrita 
Năsăud 
Direction générale des douanes et 
droits indirects- Direction 
Nationale du Recrutement et de la 
formation professionnelle 
Service Public Fédéral Finances, 
Administration Générale des 
douanes et accises 
National Anticorruption 
Directorate within the Prosecutor's 
Office attached to the High Court 
of Cassation and Justice 

21  MT  Customs Department 

22 

FR 

Direction générale des douanes et 
droits indirects 

Purchase of mobile scanners 

100 166 

100 

Purchase of equipment for monitoring vehicle 
movements 

Strengthening the operational capacity of sniffer 
dogs police units 
Purchase of  Automated Vehicle Number 
Recognition System cameras 
Purchase of Automated Vehicle Number 
Recognition System  

Purchase of scanners 

114 136 

99.2 

182 416 

93.7 

209 598 

100 

98 778 

100 

47 800 

100 

Strengthening of operational capacity 

179 349 

76.8 

Purchase of technical equipment and 
implementation of software for cigarette 
analysis 
X-Rays Networking, Image and Data Exchange 

Improvement of forensic, analytical and 
surveillance capabilities 

Anti-Fraud Interception System 

Purchase of Backscattering Van 

Implementation of computer forensics in Polish 
customs service 

100 256 

96.4 

1 466 729 

100 

186 411 

100 

1 050 866 

682 678 

99.2 

80.1 

157 250 

92.9 

Procurement of Intelligence equipment 

45 615 

98.4 

Strengthening the operational capacity 

56 061 

86.7 

Purchase of sniffer dogs and vehicles for 
transport of sniffer dogs during operations. 

12 552 

32.4 

Assistance technique d'aide à l'enquête: 
purchase of digital forensic equipment 

Purchase of technical equipment: purchase of 
investigation tools: monitoring devices as well 
as digital forensic soft- and hardware 

Lease of a mobile x-ray scanner for a period of 
5 years. 

21 480 

70.5 

95 197 

98.1 

1 106 667 

100 

Purchase of technical equipment 

37 233 

87.6 

Total  

5 888 529 

85.4 

44  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was not fully 
implemented or that the beneficiary managed to achieve considerable cost savings.  

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Table 3 – Technical Assistance final Implementation reports received in 2016  

FD  MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

Results 

1 

2013 

EL  Greek Customs Service 

Cigarette Detector Dogs 

2 

2014 

FR 

Direction générale des 
douanes et droits indirects 

3 

4 

2012 

HU
45 

X 

2013  HU  X 

Renforcement des capacités en 
équipes maître-chien anti-tabac 
(assistance technique) 
Service Provider Capacity 
Building In Hungary 
Modernising the Technical 
Background of Crime Detection 

5 

2012  HU  X 

Purchase of GSM monitoring 
systems 

6 

2012  HU  X 

Technical Development for a 
more effective Fight against 
Cigarette-related abuses 

7 

2013 

IE 

Irish Revenue 
Commissioners 

Procurement of Equipment 

8 

2013 

LT 

Financial Crime 
Investigation Service - 
Ministry of Interior 

Procurement of Intelligence 
Equipment 

9 

2012 

LV 

State Revenue Service of 
the Republic of Latvia 

Technical Support for the 
Purchase of the Fuel Unloading 
Systems 

10 

2013 

LV 

State Revenue Service of 
the Republic of Latvia 

Technical Support for the 
Purchase of Special Technical 
Equipment for Customs Control 

11 

2013 

PL 

Customs Chamber in 
Wrocław 

Implementation of the Criminal 
Analysis in The Customs Service 
- Technical Assistance 

45  

The beneficiaries have requested that their identities are not disclosed.  

24 

With  the  help  of  9  sniffer  dogs,  242 
seizures  were  made  of  more  than  250 
million  cigarettes,  440kg  tobacco  and 
cash.  Estimated 
EUR  440  000 
prevented losses: EUR 26.5 million. 
The deployment of sniffer dogs during 
6 operations led to the seizure of more 
than 3 tons tobacco. 
Investigations  tools  purchased  under 
several  grants  enabled  this  beneficiary 
the seizure of almost 400 000 packages 
of  cigarettes  and  46  tons  of  tobacco, 
together  with  counterfeits,  cars  and 
other valuables. More than 150 persons 
were  investigated  (including  customs 
staff)  and  around  50  persons  arrested. 
In  addition,  more  than  EUR  3  million 
was  seized,  whereas 
the  estimated 
losses at more than EUR 10 million. 
Transport  and  low-altitude  monitoring 
the  seizure  of 
equipment  enabled 
cigarettes  (693k  boxes),  tobacco  (14 
tonnes)  and  money  (EUR  1  million). 
The  prevented  losses  and  expected 
fines  amount  to  more  than  EUR  5 
million. 
The  use  of  luggage  scanners,  sniffer 
dogs  and  cameras  led  to  the  seizure  in 
several  places  of  almost  70  million 
cigarettes,  2.3  tons  of  tobacco,  drugs 
and  counterfeits.  Criminal  convictions 
were  secured  in  more  than  100  cases 
for  smuggling  and  the  sale  of  such 
products.  
Use  of  digital  forensic  equipment  to 
dismantle OC groups involved in VAT-
fraud with oil trades; money laundering 
and  traffic  of  luxury  cars.  Estimated 
amounts  involved:  more  than  EUR  70 
million. 
The  use  of  this  equipment  in  14 
operations  led  to  the  detection  of  17 
infringements 
customs 
of 
legislation.  The  estimated  losses  were 
more than EUR 7 000. The deployment 
of  the  equipment  purchased  under  the 
second  grant  enabled  the  seizure  of 
more  than  7  million  cigarettes  in  22 
infringements.  The  estimated  losses 
were more than EUR 800 000. 
The  use  of  digital  forensic  soft-  and 
hardware  enabled  Wrocław  customs 
the  seizure  of  more  than  19  million 
cigarettes,  60  tons  tobacco,  alcohol, 
fuels  and  counterfeited  goods.  It  also 
lead to the investigation of 80 persons, 

the 

 
 
                                                 
 
of 

devices 

information 

13  of  which  were  detained  and  5  the 
subject  of  a  prosecution.  The  overall 
losses of these seizures were more than 
EUR 20 million.  
The 
transport  vehicles,  monitoring 
equipment and computers were used in 
several operations aimed at identifying 
the  modi  operandi  of  OC-groups 
involved in VAT frauds with electronic 
equipment,  money 
laundering  and 
cigarettes  smuggling  and  counterfeits. 
It  led  to  the  seizure  of  more  than  80 
tons 
cigarettes 
tobacco, 
manufacturing  machines,  liquors  and 
fuels  as  well  as  the  investigation  of 
almost  60  persons.  The  estimated 
losses  amount  to  at  least  EUR  100 
million, but are likely to be higher.  
Forensic  equipment  used  to  examine 
in 
digital 
operations against OC-groups involved 
in  VAT-carousels,  money  laundering 
and  economic  crimes  led  to  8  arrests 
and  104  persons  under  investigation. 
The  estimated  amounts  involved  were 
more than EUR 1.3 million, though the 
amounts  could  not  be  given  for  a 
number  of  operations.  The  use  of  the 
equipment purchased under the second 
grant led to the seizure of more than 9 
million cigarettes, 50kg tobacco, drugs, 
amphetamines  and  smuggled  liquors. 
The  amounts  concerned  were  more 
than EUR 1.5 million. 
Transport  equipment  and  computers 
were  used  in  operations  enabling  the 
seizure  of  more  than  10,000  packages 
of  cigarettes  and  60kg  of  tobacco,  as 
well as 300 liters liquors. Evaded taxes, 
excises  and  custom  were  almost 
EUR 100,000. 
as 
Investigation 
(infrared)  camera's,  cars,  binoculars 
and  IT-equipment  enabled  the  seizure 
of  more  than  4.5  million  cigarettes, 
1523kg  tobacco  in  a  large  number  of 
operations.  The  amounts 
involved 
(prevented  losses,  money  laundering) 
were almost EUR 40 million.  
The  purchased  equipment  enabled  a 
smoother  and  better  examination  of 
forensic  evidence.  It  was  used  in  the 
examination  of  documents  used  for  a 
large  number  of 
transactions  and 
eventually  helped  to  detect  VAT  and 
tax  evasion  cases  as  well  as  money 
laundering  and  counterfeited  bank 
notes.  The  overall  amount  was  more 
than EUR 6 million and was eventually 
recovered.  
Video 
recording  equipment,  high-
performance  cameras  and  endoscope 
than  80  operations 
used 

equipment, 

in  more 

such 

12 

2013 

PL 

Treasury Intelligence 
Department, Ministry of 
Finance 

Purchase and Modernisation of 
the Technical Equipment 

13 

2012 

PL 

Central Bureau of 
Investigation – Warsaw 

14 

2012 

PL 

National Police 
Headquarters 

15 

2013 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Olsztyn 

16 

2012 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Lublin 

17 

2013  RO 

Dambovita County Police 
Inspectorate 

18 

2010 

SK 

Financial Directorate of the 
Slovak Republic 

Purchase of electronic 
surveillance equipment and 
training for the Central Bureau of 
Investigation of illicit 
consignments of tobacco products 

Purchase of the Computer 
Forensics Laboratory Equipment 
for the Central Bureau of 
Investigation; Purchase of 
monitoring equipment. 

Enhancing the operational 
potential of the Warmia and 
Mazury Police by developing a 
system for combating and 
preventing tobacco crime 

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

Strengthening the operational 
capacity  of Dambovita County 
Police Inspectorate by purchasing 
the latest technology used to 
combat fraud 

Purchase of Technical Equipment 
for the Detection of Illicit 
Consignments of Tobacco 
25 

 
 
Products 

Support for the Provincial Police 
Headquarters in Gdansk for the 
investigation and evidence 
collecting process regarding 
crimes against the financial 
interests of the EU. 

19 

2013 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters Gdańsk 

investigated  and 

losses  were  more 

enabled  the  seizure  of  more  than  2 
million cigarettes, 30kg tobacco, drugs, 
liquors  and  counterfeits.  Around  5 
the 
persons  were 
estimated 
than 
EUR 325 000. 
The  monitoring  equipment  purchased 
under  this grant  enabled  the  seizure  of 
2 
together  with 
substantial  amounts  of  drugs  under 
several  criminal  investigations.  The 
prevented losses of the tobacco seizure 
were around EUR 0.5 million. 

tons  of 

tobacco, 

Table 4 - Databases that were contracted under the Hercule III budget in 2016 

Name 

Content 

Commitment in Euro 

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 

375 000 

200 000 

575 000 

Total committed under 2016 budget 

1 150 000  

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 5 – Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants awarded in 2016 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

Co-fin 
Commitment          
% 

in Euro 

1 

PL  Komenda Wojewódzka Policji w Olsztynie 

2 

LV 

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of 
Latvia 

3 

IT  Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli 

4  RO  Anticorruption General Directorate (DGA) 

5 

LT 

Lithuanian Police Forensic Science Centre 

Protecting the European Union’s financial 
interests through cooperation between 
services, and acquisition and exchange of 
skills in combating tobacco crimes and 
crimes to the detriment of the European 
Union. 

Strengthening the capacity for the institutions 
involved in the AFCOS network to set up and 
identify the strategic and control tools for the 
fight against fraud and corruption 
“White Smoke” - Exchange of tools and best 
practices for the fight against the illicit traffic 
of cigarettes (in particular cheap-whites) in 
the participating region   
Improving the cross-border cooperation for 
preventing and combating fraud, corruption 
and other illegal activities in South Eastern 
Europe  

Improving Baltic States Police Computer 
Forensics Specialists' Skills in IT 
Investigations by Organizing Training of 
Specialized IT Forensics Software 

90 989  

80 

53 481 

49 

91 350   

80 

56 679 

80 

46 706 

80 

6  CZ  Transparency International CZ 

Conflict of Interests as a Risk of Fraud 

40 096 

80 

7 

IT 

University of Perugia – Department of 
Political Sciences 

8 

PL 

Szkoła Policji w Katowicach 

Fighting corruption through administrative 
measures - supporting development of new 
anti-corruption policies 

147 116 

80 

Protection of the financial interests of the EU 
– common obligations and challenges 

75 018 

80 

9  RO  Calarasi County Police Inspectorate 

10 

PL  Regional Police Headquarters in Lublin 

11  SK 

Financial Directorate of the Slovak 
Republic 

Transnational cooperation between law 
enforcement authorities for strengthening the 
activity of preventing and fighting against 
fraud with EU funds in the agricultural field 
Enhancing the effectiveness of fighting 
corruption crimes detrimental to the 
European Union’s financial interests 
Seminar focused on customs controls and risk 
analysis of vehicles on the border with 
Ukraine in the fight against customs fraud 
targeting the smuggling and counterfeiting of 
tobacco products 

12 

IT 

Osservatorio sulla criminalità 
nell’agricoltura e sul sistema 
agroalimentare 

Tobacco road 

13 

IT 

Agenzia Veneta per i Pagamenti in 
Agricoltura - AVEPA 

SafeNet: Strenghten Anti Fraud European 
Network 

96 722 

80 

43 709 

80 

41 144 

80 

47 998  

80 

68 991  

80 

Total 

900 000 

77 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 6 – Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences Procured Conferences organised by the Commission in 2016 

Dates 

Conference Title 

Location 

No of 
participants 

Amount 
paid in 
Euro (1) 

1 (1) 

17-19 January 2017 

ASEM  Briefing  Conference  –  JCO 
RENEGADE  

Bangkok 
Thailand 

80 

248 361 

Objectives: Preparing the Joint Customs Operations (JCO) RENEGADE; discussing and approving the operational plan as well 
as training of ASEM partners in the AFIS IT tool for the secure exchange of information during the JCO. The event contributed 
to  the  prevention  and  the  fight  against  counterfeits  under  the  ASEM  framework.  The  conference  and  training  extended  the 
access  to  the  AFIS  platform  to  many  non-EU  countries  and  enhanced  international  cooperation  in  the  antifraud  area  by 
facilitating the exchange of intelligence and the conduct of operational actions in the various countries involved. The on-going 
evaluation of the JCO suggests the possibility for the initiation of OLAF investigations in the field of IPR. 

2 

28 June - 1 July 2016 

Task Group Cigarette 2016 

Riga 
Latvia 

94 

91 387 

Objectives:  In  the  context  of  OLAF's  leading  role  in  the  field  of  coordination  and  investigation  activities  concerning  the 
smuggling of cigarettes into the EU, this event provided the Member States with an update on the current situation in relation 
to cigarettes smuggling. This update is based on the analysis and the interpretation of data collected by OLAF during 2015-
2016. In addition, the event enabled the exchange of information about recent developments, strategies and trends in the area of 
cigarettes smuggling as well as discussions on enforcement measures to improve effectiveness and cooperation in this field. 

3 

17-19 June 2016 

AFCOS Seminar 

Tirana 
Albania 

70 

62 119 

Objectives: Bringing together AFCOS and other relevant authorities from candidate countries, potential candidate countries, as 
well as Eastern Partnership countries, with whom the EU has concluded association agreements, in order  (i) to)  present the 
work  of  OLAF  and  AFCOS  authorities,  (ii)  to  discuss  challenges  in  their  cooperation,  and  (ii)  to    share  best  practices  and 
experience  in  the  areas  of  the  protection  of  the  EU's  financial  interests  and  fight  against  fraud  (e.g.  functioning  of  AFCOS, 
investigative cooperation, preparation of an antifraud strategy, irregularity reporting, etc.). 

4 (1) 

1-2 March 2017 

Conference 
Regulation 883/2013 

on 

the  Evaluation 

of 

Brussels 
Belgium 

190 

193 505 

Objectives: The conference was organised as part of the evaluation of  Regulation 883/2013. It gathered stakeholders from a 
wide  range  of  antifraud  backgrounds  including  high-level  representatives  from  OLAF's  operational  partners,  the  European 
Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, the European Court of Auditors and OLAF Supervisory Committee. The 
participants presented their insights on the application of Regulation 883/2013; discussed the preliminary evaluation findings 
and provided further evidence for the evaluation of the Regulation. It was also an opportunity to discuss how the future EPPO 
would impact the current framework of OLAF and the antifraud landscape in general. 

5 

13-14 April 2016  

Training  for  Member  States  on  European 
Maritime  Safety  Agency’s  SSN  and  IMS 
(IMDatE) applications 

Lisbon 
Portugal 

23 

24 082 

Objectives: Training Member States' customs officers interested in vessel movement data that would support their analytical, 
intelligence and operational work. 

6 

22-25 November 2016 

High  level  meeting  between  customs  and 
other regulatory authorities 

Hong Kong  

28 

27 991  

Objectives: The purpose of this meeting between the customs and other regulatory authorities was to exchange views on how 
to combat certain types of illegal activities and abuse, including on sensitive products and transhipment fraud and to explore 
how OLAF and non-EU countries could work together in a practical way to reduce the impact of this abuse. The participants 
discussed  setting up  a  pilot project  concerning  a  clearly  defined product shipped from  China  to Europe  and  from  Europe  to 
China and to explore the feasibility of a Joint Customs Cooperation (JCO) on combatting this type of abuse and fraud building 
on the experience of the above mentioned pilot project.   

205 780 (2) 
 (1)  Events n° 1 and 4 are committed under Hercule Budget 2016, but implemented in early 2017. Since the amounts paid are not 
known yet, the amounts indicated are the amounts committed. The overall amount committed under the 2016 Financing 
Decision for procured conferences was: EUR 693 605.- 

Total 

485 

(2)  This total does not include events n°1 and 4 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 7 - Anti-Fraud Training & Conferences grants finalised in 2016 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

Partici
pants 

Total paid 

Amount 
paid as % to 
initial 
commitment
46 

1 

2 

RO 

NL 

National Anticorruption 
Directorate  - DNA 
National Police of The 
Netherlands 

Training  for  operating  technical  equipment 
needed to support investigations 

Sniffer Rats II 

59  

16  

56 733  

41 879  

3 

RO 

Dolj County Police 
Inspectorate 

4 

IT 

Istituto Europeo per lo 
Sviluppo Socio 
Economico 

5 

HU 

National Tax and 
Customs Administration 
of Hungary 

6 

RO 

National Anticorruption 
Directorate within the 
Prosecutor's Office  

7 

8 

9 

SK 

Financial Directorate of 
the Slovak Republic 

CZ  Oživení, o.s. 

BG 

National Revenue 
Agency (NRA) 

10  RO 

Freedom House Romania 

11 

PL 

Provincial Police 
Headquarters in Gdańsk 

12 

IT 

Italian Carabinieri 

INTACT-INcreasing  the  Awareness  of  law 
enforcement  agencies  involved  in  the  fight 
against  smuggling  and  counterfeiting  of 
tobacco  product 
in  Romania,  Hungary, 
Bulgaria 
EU  funded  actions:  rules,  laws  and  best 
practices  sharing  in  the  field  of  fraud 
prevention 
cooperation 
international 
Enhancing 
between  the  partner  authorities  involved  to 
strengthen  the  fight  against  infringements 
affecting the financial interests of the EU on 
the EU's external and internal borders 
Frauds 
in  respect  of  EU  revenue  by 
simulated  customs  operations  -  typologies 
and methods of investigation 
Training  focused  on  detection  of  smuggled 
and  counterfeited  tobacco  products  in  air, 
land and maritime container transport 
Whistleblowing:  Challenge  for  the  Czech 
Republic 
Increasing  NRA’s  administrative  capacity 
in preventing and investigating fraud 
Better  legal  protection  for  EU  financial 
interests in Romanian public procurement 
Identifying 
distribution of excise goods  
Operational  approaches  to fighting fraud  in 
the European agricultural and 
food sectors 

production 

illegal 

and 

220  

37 459  

88  

62 572  

56  

25 033  

30  

11 090  

57  

44 805  

144  

151  

267  

115  

39 538  

20 979  

59 832  

16 728  

53  

49 916  

Total 

1 256  

466 565 

78 

17 

55 

82 

55 

37 

73 

90 

46 

87 

61 

84 

56 

46  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was not fully 
implemented or that the beneficiary's managed to achieve considerable cost savings.  

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Table 8 - Legal Training & Studies grants awarded in 2016 

  MS 

Beneficiary 

Subject 

1 

NL 

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

2 

PL 

ELRA - European Law 
Research Association 

3 

DE 

Max Planck Society for the 
Advancement of Science 

4 

CZ 

Transparency International 
Czech Republic 

5 

LU  University of Luxembourg 

6 

ES 

Anti-Fraud Office of 
Catalonia 

7 

RO  Expert Forum Association 

8 

BG 

Program for the 
Development of the Judicial 
System Association 

9 

RO 

Transparency International 
Romania 

10  DE 

Academy of European Law - 
ERA 

Comparative study  
Exchange of information with EU and national 
enforcement authorities: Improving OLAF’s 
legislative framework through a comparison 
with other EU authorities (ECN/ESMA/ECB) 
Conference and post-conference publication 
The Cost of Non-Europe 
Periodical publication 
eucrim: The European Criminal Law 
Associations' Forum - publication of a 
periodical on the protection of the EU’s 
financial interests 
Comparative study  
Transparency of corporate ownership structures 
of public money recipients, including their tax 
transparency 
Comparative study 
Liability of company directors in a comparative 
EU criminal justice context 
Comparative study and seminar 
Managing conflicts of interest for the prevention 
of fraud and corruption in the European Union 
Comparative study and conference 
Money and politics – linking EU funds and 
political parties 
Comparative study and conference 
Liability of Legal Persons for Abuse of EU 
Funds: Comparing Bulgaria’s New Legislation 
with EU Member States’ Law and Practice 
Comparative study 
The preventive role of judiciary in protecting the 
financial interest of the European Union – a 
comparative analysis for improved performance 
Conference 
Annual Forum on Combating Fraud and 
Corruption in the EU 2017 

Commit-
ments in 
Euro 

Co-fin % 

76 215 

80 

45 574 

90 

70 838 

80 

45 978 

80 

49 697 

31.6 

32 701 

55 537 

80 

80 

31 810 

80 

48 807 

80 

36 250 

73.9 

Total 

493 407 

69.6 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9 - Legal training and studies grants finalised in 2016 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

1 

IT 

University of Bologna, 
European School of 
Advanced Fiscal 
Studies 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

IT 

Fondazione Lelio e Lisli 
Basso (ISSOCO) 

PL  European Law Research 

Association 

IT  University of Ferrara 

HR  Croatian Association of 
European Criminal Law 

DE 

Max Planck Institute for 
Foreign and 
International Criminal 
Law 

DE  Academy of European 

Law 

Comparative study and conference:  
Criminal 
Administrative 
and 
Investigations  in  the  field  of  VAT  and 
Customs  Duties.  From  national  Practices 
to an EU Integrated System of Information 
and Evidence Exchange 
Conference and publication: 
EPPO  and  OLAF 
judicial review and procedural guarantees 

investigations: 

the 

Conference and publication: 
Interactions between the EPPO and 
national authorities 
Comparative study and seminar: 
Relationships between national judicial 
authorities and the investigative agencies 
in the view of the EPPO: operational 
models and best practices in fight against 
EU frauds 
Conference and publication: 
European Criminal Procedure Law in 
Service of Protection of European Union 
Financial Interests: State of Play and 
Challenges 
Periodical publication 
"eucrim" - The European Criminal Law 
Associations' Forum 

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 

N° of 
part. 

Total paid 

Amount paid 
as % to initial 
commitment
47 

100 

53 079 

89.6 

105 

67 338 

86.2 

103 

33 257 

65.2 

40 

52 097 

87.5 

80 

75 832 

86.6 

N/A 

52 488 

81.6 

41 

35 846 

67.0 

Total 

469 

369 937 

80.5 

47  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was not fully 
implemented or that the beneficiary's managed to achieve considerable cost savings.  

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Table 10 - Technical Assistance - Overview of awarded grants and rejected applications in 2016 

Received 
applications 
(Number) 

Requests 
for 90% 
funding 
(Number) 

Grants 
requested 
(EUR) 

Awarded 
grants 
(Number) 

Awarded 
grants 
90% 
(Number)  

Grants 
awarded 
(EUR) 

MS 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

 9 

10 

11  HR 

12 

IT 

13  CY 

14 

15 

16 

LV 

LT 

LU 

17  HU 

18  MT 

19  NL 

20  AT 

21 

22 

PL 

PT 

23  RO 

24 

25 

26 

25 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

28  UK 

1 

3 

1 

- 

- 

3 

- 

3 

2 

4 

2 

 2 

- 

 2 

2 

 - 

 5 

3 

 - 

- 

 18 

1 

15 

2 

1 

- 

1 

1 

0 

 1  

0 

- 

- 

0 

- 

2  

 0 

0 

1 

1  

- 

 0 

0 

 - 

 1 

0 

 - 

- 

 5 

0 

1 

1 

0 

- 

0 

0 

356 658  

1 492 288 

160 000  

-  

-  

517 031  

- 

1 652 284  

1 028 463  

1 351 267 

 3 348 000 

887 624  

- 

333 522  

355 885 

-  

1 480 938  

788 545  

-  

- 

7 809 086  

553 261 

4 149 619  

523 679 

396 524 

- 

247 056 

214 200 

1 

 1 

 0 

- 

 - 

2 

- 

 1 

 2 

3 

1 

 0 

- 

 1 

2 

 - 

 1 

1 

 - 

- 

 3 

1 

 2 

0 

1 

- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

- 

0 

- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

0 

0 

 - 

0 

0 

 - 

- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

0 

0 

0 

290 568  

347 478  

0  

- 

-  

292 238  

-  

1 107 200  

995 424  

874 018  

1 200 000  

0  

- 

110 482  

355 885 

-  

711 966  

331 262 

-  

- 

947 940  

548 701 

1 009 557  

0 

330 684 

- 

0 

0 

9 453 403  

Total 

72 

13 

27 645 930  

 23 

Average amount requested: EUR 383 971 (Overall amount requested/number of applications) 
Average amount awarded:  EUR 411 018 (Overall amount awarded/number of grants) 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 11 - Call for proposals Training and Conferences 2016 - Overview of awarded grants and rejected applications  

MS 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11  HR 

12 

IT 

13  CY 

14 

15 

16 

LV 

LT 

LU 

17  HU 

18  MT 

19  NL 

20  AT 

21 

22 

PL 

PT 

23  RO 

24 

25 

26 

27 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

28  UK 

Received 
applications 
(Number) 

Requests for 
90% 
funding 
(Number)48 

Grants 
requested 
(EUR) 

Awarded 
grants 
(Number) 

Awarded 
grants 90% 
(Number) 42 

Grants 
awarded 
(EUR) 

- 

1  

1  

- 

- 

- 

- 

2  

- 

1  

1  

4  

- 

1  

1  

- 

1  

- 

- 

- 

4  

- 

9  

- 

1  

- 

- 

1  

28 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

-  

44.000  

40.096  

-  

-  

-  

-  

203.299  

-  

157.553  

81.740  

355.456  

-  

86.606  

55.266  

-  

45.156  

-  

-  

-  

299.348  

-  

639.464  

-  

41.144  

-  

-  

- 

0  

1  

- 

- 

- 

- 

0  

- 

0  

0  

4  

- 

1  

1  

- 

0  

- 

- 

- 

3  

- 

2  

- 

1  

- 

- 

126.595  

2 175 722 

0  

13 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

0  

40.096  

- 

- 

- 

- 

0  

- 

0  

0  

355.456  

- 

53.481  

46.706  

- 

0  

- 

- 

- 

209.716  

- 

153.401  

- 

41.144  

- 

- 

0  

900 000 

Average amount requested: EUR 77 704 (Overall amount requested/number of applications) 
Average amount awarded:  EUR 69 231 (Overall amount awarded/number of grants) 

48 Not for Training grants: column will stay blank 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Table 12 - Call for proposals Legal Training and Studies 2016 - Overview of awarded grants and rejected applications  

MS 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11  HR 

12 

IT 

13  CY 

14 

15 

16 

LV 

LT 

LU 

17  HU 

18  MT 

19  NL 

20  AT 

21 

22 

PL 

PT 

23  RO 

24 

25 

26 

25 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

28  UK 

Received 
applications 
(Number) 

Requests 
for 90% 
funding 
(Number) 

Grants 
requested 
(EUR) 

Awarded 
grants 
(Number) 

Awarded 
grants 90% 
(Number)  

Grants 
awarded 
(EUR) 

- 

2 

2 

- 

2 

- 

- 

2 

3 

- 

- 

4 

- 

1 

- 

1 

1 

- 

1 

- 

1 

- 

2 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

0 

0 

- 

0 

- 

- 

0 

0 

- 

- 

1 

- 

0 

- 

0 

1 

- 

0 

- 

1 

- 

0 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

-  

78 823  

95 323 

-  

111 685  

-  

-  

87 872 

218 761 

-  

-  

264 789 

-  

52 848 

-  

50 425 

83 135  

-  

79 687  

-  

40 510 

-  

113 567 

-  

-  

-  

-  

-  

- 

1 

1 

- 

2 

- 

- 

0 

1 

- 

- 

0 

- 

0 

- 

1 

0 

- 

1 

- 

1 

- 

2 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

0 

0 

- 

0 

- 

- 

0 

0 

- 

- 

0 

- 

0 

- 

0 

0 

- 

0 

- 

1 

- 

0 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

-  

31 810   

45 978  

- 

107 088  

- 

- 

0  

32 701  

- 

- 

0  

- 

0 

- 

49 697 

0  

- 

76 215  

- 

45 574  

- 

104 345 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

22 

1 277 425 

10 

493 407 

Average amount requested: EUR 58 065 (Overall amount requested/number of applications). 
Average amount awarded:  EUR 49 341 (Overall amount awarded/number of grants). 

34