COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy (CAFS) Action Plan - State of Play June 2021 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 32nd Annual Report on the protection of the European Union's financial interests - Fight against fraud - 2020
Date: 2021-09-20
Institutions: European Anti-Fraud Office, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU budget, EU strategy, activity report, coronavirus disease, epidemic, fight against crime, financial control, fraud, fraud against the EU

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.9.2021  SWD(2021) 262 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy (CAFS) Action Plan - State of Play June 2021 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 32nd Annual Report on the protection of the European Union's financial interests - Fight against fraud - 2020 {COM(2021) 578 final} - {SWD(2021) 257 final} - {SWD(2021) 258 final} - {SWD(2021) 259 final} - {SWD(2021) 263 final} - {SWD(2021) 264 final}  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

A. PREVENTION AND DETECTION .............................................................................. 2 

A.1 Data collection and analysis ................................................................................. 2 

A.2  Priority  measures:  coordination  and  cooperation  among  Commission 

services and executive agencies ........................................................................ 6 

A.3 Professional ethics ................................................................................................ 8 

A.4 Training, awareness-raising and technical assistance ........................................ 10 

A.5 Transparency ...................................................................................................... 11 

A.6  Fraud-proofing  of  the  legal  framework  for  the  implementation  of  the 

budget .............................................................................................................. 12 

A.7 Miscellaneous ..................................................................................................... 13 

A.8 Expenditure ......................................................................................................... 15 

A.9 Revenue - traditional own resources (TOR) ....................................................... 20 

A.10 Revenue - value added tax (VAT) .................................................................... 22 

B. INVESTIGATION........................................................................................................ 24 

B.1 European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and PIF Directive ....................... 24 

B.2 European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) ................................................................. 25 

C.  CORRECTIVE  MEASURES  AND  SANCTIONS;  FOLLOW-UP  OF  OLAF 

RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................... 27 

D. REPORTING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAFS .................................. 28 

 
 
 
A. PREVENTION AND DETECTION 

A.1 Data collection and analysis 

No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

1 

2 

3 

Provide strategic analyses that can feed into fraud risk assessments and fraud 
prevention activities of the Commission services and the Member States. Data 
sources for these analyses would include: 

OLAF 
Support: 
JRC 

o  closed OLAF investigations; 
o  cases  reported  by  the  Member  States  through  the  Irregularities 

Management System (IMS). 

Promote  the  analytical  use  of  IMS  data  (also  by  the  Member  States)  to 
improve  methods  and  deployment  of  resources  in  the  field  of  fraud 
prevention, detection, investigation and correction.  

This action should be supported by a built-in analytical tool to be developed 
by OLAF. 

Closely  monitor  Member  States’  reporting  of  irregularities  by  carrying  out 
respective  checks  and/or  external  evaluation,  with  a  view  to  improving  and 
harmonising the quality and completeness of the data reported in the IMS. 

OLAF 

Support: 
REGIO, 
AGRI, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 
HOME, 
JRC 

OLAF 
(coor-
dination), 
REGIO, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 
AGRI, 
HOME 

In  June  2020,  OLAF  shared  an  internal  analysis  on 
fisheries funds with relevant Commission services. An 
OLAF  internal  paper  on  COVID-19  related  risks 
(based  on  OLAF’s  investigations)  was  circulated  to 
Commission services in October 2020, and an analysis 
on  irregularities  and  fraud  in  EU  funding  of  health 
infrastructure  was  finalised  in  June  2021.  Other 
analyses are ongoing. 

OLAF  regularly  promotes  the  analytical  use  of  IMS 
data  with  users  in  the  Commission  services  and 
Member  States.  An  IMS  built-in  analytical  tool  has 
been  developed  and  was  put  into  production  in 
February  2021.  It  is  now  available  to  IMS  users  and 
offers  a  number  of  tailored  analyses,  which  can  be 
further  developed  on  OLAF’s  own  initiative  or  on 
request. OLAF intends to deliver training on the built-
in analytical tool in the second half of 2021.  

and  

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

and  

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

2021 

OLAF  monitors  all  relevant  information  from  audits 
by Member States and Directorates-General (DGs) to 
make sure that irregularities are reported in the IMS. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2021, 
then 
continuous 

The  relevant  Commission  services  conduct  system 
audits,  to  check  if  monitoring  and  reporting  of 
irregularities  is  general  practice.  This  reporting  is 
done  in  the  context  of  regular  correspondence  with 
Member  States  (on,  for  example,  implementation  of 
the operational programmes and audit reports).  

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

4 

Exploring possibilities to strengthen IT-based fraud prevention and detection 
(as  regards  risk  scoring  and  controls  for  double-funding,  (self-)  plagiarism, 
etc.) by: 

o  establishing and disseminating a Commission-wide inventory of existing 

IT tools;  

o  examining  ways  to  enhance  the  interoperability  of  these  tools,  where 
possible  across  management  modes,  share  them  among  interested 
services and/or enrich them with data coming from several sources; 

o  analysing needs and potential for new developments, working towards the 

most cost-effective balance between corporate and local tools. 

Review and improve  the ARACHNE risk scoring tool. Continue to promote 
its  use  among  Member  State  authorities,  supported  by  an  external  legal 
opinion as necessary. 

OLAF is planning a study on IMS in the second half 
of  2021  to  assess  the  use  of  IMS  and  users’  needs, 
the  quality  and 
improving 
with  a  view 
completeness of data reporting in the IMS. 

to 

Coor-
dination: 

The  EC  Data  Inventory  has  been  established  and 
disseminated across the Commission. 

Partially 
done 

OLAF/ 
JRC 

Support:  

BUDG, 
DIGIT, 
SJ, 
spending 
services1 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

the 
The  Commission 
interoperability  of  its  IT  tools,  also  to  prevent  and 
detect fraud.  

to  enhance 

striving 

is 

To  maximise  use  of  the  Commission’s  IT  resources, 
OLAF  is  in  contact  with  data  owners  to  obtain  the 
most efficient type and level of access.  
The Commission is extending existing tools to provide 
a robust, scalable and adaptable analysis of big data.  
The  Commission  constantly  assesses  Member  States’ 
suggestions  for  improvement  and  considers  them 
whenever  the  need  for  updates  to  ARACHNE  arises. 
ARACHNE  is  promoted  by  the  Commission  in  the 
context  of  setting  up  national  control  systems  to 

EMPL 

Support: 
REGIO, 
AGRI, 

1  Each service that is business owner of an IT tool has the lead responsibility for the analysis and adaptation of that tool in line with the action point. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

OLAF, 
JRC, SJ 

implement  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility 
(RRF) and also for the shared management funds. 

Explore possibilities for an extended use of ARACHNE and other risk scoring 
tools in all management modes. 

Coor- 

dination:  

OLAF/ 

EMPL 

Support: 

JRC; 
RTD, 
DIGIT, 
BUDG, 
SJ, 
spending 
services 

OLAF 
Support:  
RTD, 
DIGIT, 
BUDG, 
spending 
services 

5 

Examine possible scope, tools and working methods for the exchange of audit 
results among services and for exploiting audit results for analysis and early 
detection of risks.  

the 

the  Council 

interinstitutional  agreement  between 
and 

the 
In 
European  Parliament, 
the 
Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  cooperation  in 
budgetary  matters  and  sound  financial  management, 
as  well  as  new  own  resources,  including  a  roadmap 
for  introducing  new  own  resources,  the  Commission 
is  required  to  make  available  an  integrated  and 
interoperable  information  and  monitoring  system, 
including a single data-mining and risk scoring tool. 

that 

final  RRF  Regulation  stipulates 

The 
the 
Commission  will  make  ARACHNE  available  for 
Member  States,  although  not  compulsory.  In  the 
absence of a legal obligation for Member States to use 
ARACHNE, 
to 
encourage Member States to use this data-mining tool 
and  will  reflect  further  on  what  else  can  be  done  to 
enhance the quality and interoperability of the data on 
beneficiaries and final recipients of EU funding. 

the  Commission  will  continue 

Shared management Commission services share audit 
reports  with  OLAF,  with  the  aim  of  automatically 
extracting  significant 
for  anti-fraud 
purposes.  

information 

Partially 
done 

2020-2021 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

Explore an extended use of specific applications of audit tools (MAPAR) on 
audit procedures and developing analysis of findings. 

cooperation  with 

Encourage 
by 
organising/contracting/co-financing  conferences  and  studies  on  selected 
topics. 

practitioners 

academia 

and 

Map  and  review  channels  for  exchanging  fraud-related  information  between 
services,  other  EU  bodies,  Member  States  (including  exchanges  with 
Eurofisc), non-EU countries and international organisations.  

6 

7 

8 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

MAPAR records the findings of the audits performed 
by  DG  REGIO  and  DG  EMPL.  The  existing 
Launchpad reports capturing the information available 
in  MAPAR  were  further  developed  during  2020. 
These  reports  can  capture  the  audit  findings,  their 
acceptance,  frequency  and  financial 
the 
applied assessment criteria and the Key Requirements 
assessments. 

impact, 

In  the  context  of  the  Hercule  funding  programme, 
OLAF has encouraged cooperation with academia and 
the  Hercule  programme 
practitioners. 
provided grants to 12 projects involving academia and 
practitioners,  contributing  to  data  collection  and 
analysis and the development of anti-fraud studies. 

In  2020, 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

The inventory is being established. 

Ongoing 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

Lead 
service 

REGIO 
Support: 
RTD, 
DIGIT, 
OLAF, 
BUDG, 
spending 
services 

OLAF 

OLAF 
Support: 
BUDG, 
SJ, 
spending 
services 

JRC, 

Develop  country  profiles  to  better  analyse  and  assess  Member  States’  anti-
fraud action. 

OLAF 

The methodology for a country profile pilot has been 
developed  and  OLAF 
is  consolidating  different 
country-specific  information  for  an  OLAF  internal 
depository.  The  launch  of  the  pilot  with  the  Member 
States is pending due to resource constraints. 

Ongoing 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A.2 Priority measures: coordination and cooperation among Commission services and executive agencies 

No  Action 

9 

Have the Corporate Management Board strategically monitor and review the 
Commission’s  anti-fraud  policies  at  least  once  a  year.  This  monitoring 
exercise will include: 

o 

o 
o 

the  follow-up  to  OLAF’s  recommendations  on  services’  anti-fraud 
strategies; 
the overall progress in the 2019 CAFS Action Plan; and 
the systemic follow-up to OLAF’s investigation-based recommendations.  

Lead 
service 

SG 
Support: 
OLAF, 
BUDG, 
HR, SJ  

Preparatory  work  undertaken  mainly  by  OLAF,  the  FPDNet  and  by  the 
central  services  at  working 
the  Administrative 
level, 
Arrangements between the Commission and OLAF. See also Action 10. 

line  with 

in 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

The Commission Secretariat-General has, since 2019, 
organised  regular  monitoring  meetings  with  OLAF 
and  horizontal  services  on  the  follow-up  of  OLAF 
recommendations. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

In  2020,  OLAF  provided  anti-fraud  advice  and 
recommendations on 13 services’ anti-fraud strategies. 

Progress  in  implementing  the  Commission  anti-fraud 
strategy  (CAFS)  was  discussed  by  the  Commission 
Corporate Management Board (CMB) on 3 July 2020, 
and a similar discussion is foreseen in the second half 
of 2021. 

In  2020-2021,  OLAF  has  been  conducting  a 
stocktaking  exercise  of  the  follow-up  to  financial 
recommendations issued between 2012 and mid-2019. 
OLAF  presented  the  preliminary  results  to  the  CMB 
on 3 July 2020, 27 January 2021 and 29 June 2021. 

10  

Intensify  the  work  of  the  Commission  Fraud  Prevention  and  Detection 
Network by: 

o  organising  an  annual  Directors’  level  meeting  to  review  Commission 

o 

anti-fraud policies; 
setting up sub-groups of services with similar profiles, based on needs to 
be  analysed  and  including  existing  anti-fraud  networks  composed  of 
‘families’  of  services.  OLAF  and  BUDG  should  participate  in  all  sub-
groups and the External Aid subgroup should be open to the EEAS; 

o  choosing  agenda  items  that  relate  to  colleagues’  daily  work  experiences 
for  ‘hands-on’  collaboration,  including  a  peer  review  of  fraud  risks,  red 

OLAF 
Support: 
BUDG 

The  organisation  of  the  annual  Directors’  level 
meeting is pending due to the forthcoming recruitment 
of OLAF Director C.  

Partially 
done 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

Three  Fraud  Prevention  and  Detection  Network 
(FPDNet)  sub-groups  (shared  management,  direct 
management,  and  external  aid)  were  set  up  in  2019, 
and  two  in  the  first  half  of  2021  (internal  cases  and 
  The  sub-groups  meet 
fraud  risk  management). 
regularly. 
Main topics for  FPDNet agendas are identified based 
on feedback from services. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

flags and control systems, where appropriate; and 

o  collaborating  more  effectively  with  the  Commission’s  Network  of 

Internal Control Coordinators. 

OLAF has ensured effective communication channels 
with  the  Internal  Control  Coordinators  Network  and 
participates in the meetings of the Network. 

11 

Further  improve  service-level  anti-fraud  strategies  and  their  implementation 
in the following ways: 

All 
services 

o  Continue  to  update  anti-fraud  strategies,  taking  into  account  the  2019 
CAFS  and  following  a  peer  review  in  the  relevant  FPDNet  subgroup  at 
least every three years; 

Coor-
dination: 
OLAF 

Support: 
SG, 
BUDG 

o  OLAF should update its methodological guidance for anti-fraud strategies 

when necessary; 

o  Draft  anti-fraud  strategies  and  updates  should  be  subject  to  mandatory 

review by OLAF; 

o  Without  prejudice  to  AODs’  responsibilities,  the  implementation  of 
services’  anti-fraud  strategies  should  be  closely  monitored  by  OLAF, 
from the planning to the reporting stage; 

o  Based  on  drafts  and  concepts  developed  by  the  services  concerned, 
OLAF should issue recommendations on the design and implementation 
of anti-fraud strategies as appropriate. AODs who decide not to follow a 
recommendation  must  justify  their  position  to  OLAF  in  writing.  Any 
issues that cannot be resolved bilaterally between OLAF and the service 
concerned  may  be  discussed,  without  prejudice  to  the  AODs’  ultimate 
responsibility,  in  the  relevant  subgroup  of  the  FPDNet  and/or  in  other 

Since  the  entry  into  force  of  the  2019  Commission 
anti-fraud strategy, more than 20 Commission services 
have  updated  or  revised  their  services’  anti-fraud 
strategies. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

The  revised  anti-fraud  strategy  methodology  was 
finalised and circulated in the FPDNet in June 2021. 

In  2020,  OLAF  provided  anti-fraud  advice  and 
recommendations on 13 services’ anti-fraud strategies. 

OLAF  closely  monitors 
services’ anti-fraud strategies. 

the 

implementation  of 

When  revising  the  services’  anti-fraud  strategies, 
OLAF  issues  recommendations  and  advice  to  the 
services concerned. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

suitable contexts, such as peer review meetings on critical risks or annual 
activity reports. They may also be brought to the attention of the CMB. 

A.3 Professional ethics 

No  Action 

12 

Continue,  and  reinforce  where  appropriate,  internal  communication  and 
training on questions of professional ethics with special emphasis on conflict 
of  interest,  relations  with  lobbyists,  duty  of  discretion  and  whistleblowing. 
The aim is to create a common understanding of the relevant concepts and to 
encourage  ethical  practices  in  the  workplace,  taking  into  account  that  fraud 
prevention and detection is only one aspect of ethics and integrity. 

Lead 
service 

Lead 
service 

HR 
Support: 
SG, 
OLAF 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous  

in  place  a  very 
The  Commission  has  put 
comprehensive 
training  policy  on  ethics  and 
disciplinary matters for staff at different stages of their 
career.  In  2019,  specific  ethics  training  was  put  in 
place for the new Commission. The Commission also 
issued two guides on ethics in 2019, an extensive one 
containing  all  the  rules  and  the  legal  texts  for  both 
Members and Commission staff, and a shorter version 
for Commission staff (‘Practical guide on ethics’). On 
12  June  2019,  the  Commission  adopted  the  new 
Decision 
implementing 
provisions  on  the  conduct  of  administrative  inquiries 
and  disciplinary  proceedings  (C(2019)  4231),  which 
repealed  Commission  Decision  C(2004)  1588.  IDOC 
revised  its  practical  guide  and  made  it  publicly 
available for staff on the Commission Intracomm site. 

general 

laying 

down 

13 

Evaluate the use of declarations of interest / absence of conflict of interest in 
the Commission and in executive agencies. 

HR 

In December 2020 and January 2021, the Commission 
published  additional  guidance  for  Commission  staff. 
This  includes  the  revised  guidance  on  MyIntracomm 
on conflicts of interest regarding gainful employment 
of  the  spouse,  on  ad  hoc  conflicts  of  interest 
(including on financial matters) and revised FAQs on 
post-service activities.  

Done  

2020  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

14 

Evaluate  the  Commission’s  policy  on  whistleblowing  in  the  context  of  the 
report required by Article 113 of the Staff Regulations. 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

HR.IDOC  The Commission issued a review of the guidelines on 
whistleblowing  (Communication  from  Vice-President 
Šefčovič 
the  Commission  on  Guidelines  on 
Whistleblowing of 6 December 2012, SEC(2012) 679 
final).  The  report  of  4  September  2019  on  the  2019 
review  of  the  guidelines  concluded  that  it  is  not 
necessary to amend them at this stage.  

to 

Done 

2020 

15 

Promote the highest ethical standards among other EU bodies through: 

o  membership in management boards; 
o  presentation of the Commission’s best practices in inter-agency networks; 
o 
o  advocating inter-agency task forces on particular issues as necessary. 

support for ethics training; 

Partner 
DGs 
of 
other  EU 
bodies 
Support: 
SG,  HR, 
OLAF 

Done, 
and 
continuous  

Continuous 

implement 

On 20 April 2020, the Commission issued guidelines2 
the  new  Framework  Financial 
to 
(FFR)3.  The  basic  acts  setting  up 
Regulation 
decentralised agencies in combination with Article 70 
of  the  Financial  Regulation  oblige  the  decentralised 
agencies  receiving  support  from  the  Union  budget  to 
align  their  financial  rules  with  the  FFR  and,  on  this 
basis,  to  adopt  rules  on  preventing  and  managing 
conflicts  of  interest  and  to  publish  annually  on  their 
website the declaration of interests of the management 
board members.  

The  rules  of  each  decentralised  agency  shall  thus  be 
aligned with Article 42 of the FFR. According to the 
FFR,  the  agencies  shall  also  inform  the  Commission 
without delay about cases of presumed fraud and other 
financial  irregularities,  and  of  any  completed  or 
ongoing investigations by the EPPO or OLAF, and of 
any  audits  or  controls  by  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors (ECA) or the Internal Audit Service (IAS).   

2  Communication from the Commission on the strengthening of the governance of Union Bodies under Article 70 of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 and  on the guidelines for the Single 

Programming Document and the Consolidated Annual Activity Report C(2020)2297. 

3  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in 

Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council OJ L 122, 10.5.2019, p. 1-38. 

9 

 
 
 
    
 
 
 
                                                 
A.4 Training, awareness-raising and technical assistance 

No  Action 

16  Maintain  and  refine  a  corporate  anti-fraud  training  cycle,  including  regular 
refresher  courses  and  e-learning  modules,  which  should  be  mandatory  for 
relevant groups of staff such as financial officers. 

Lead 
service 

OLAF 

Support: 

BUDG, HR 

17 

Ensure  specialised  anti-fraud  training,  according  to  needs  identified,  for 
target groups such as:  

OLAF 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

The ‘Fraud stay vigilant’ training is carried out by an 
external  contractor  under  a  framework  contract 
managed  by  DG  HR.  OLAF  provides  planning, 
validation  of  contents 
(including  some  mock 
sessions  with  the  external  trainers)  and  the  agenda. 
OLAF  is  also  involved  in  managing  the  training, 
with a new contractor.  

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

In  2019,  OLAF  delivered about  45  days of  training 
to EU institutions and Member State authorities, and 
25 days in 2020. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

o  project managers; 
o  auditors; 
o  Heads  of,  and  administrative  staff 

Delegations; and 

in,  Representations  and 

Based  on  demand,  OLAF  continues  to  deliver 
training online. 

o  Heads  of  Civilian  CFSP  Missions  and  EU  Special  Representatives 

and the staff of their offices. 

18 

Support  other  Commission  services  and  executive  agencies,  decentralised 
agencies,  other EU  institutions and bodies  and Member  States  in  their  anti-
fraud training activities.  

OLAF 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

Advice  provided  on  anti-fraud  strategies  (including 
training aspects) and other fraud prevention aspects, 
notably  to  the  BEREC  Office,  the    Innovative 
Medicines  Initiative-IMI2  Joint  Undertaking,  the 
European  Institute  for  Innovation  &  Technology 
(EIT),  the  Knowledge and Innovation  Communities 
(KICs), 
for 
Cybersecurity  (ENISA),  CINEA,  Frontex,  and  the 
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.  

the  European  Union  Agency 

Based  on  individual  requests,  a  dedicated  OLAF 
trainer continues to deliver training online. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19 

Provide  technical  assistance  to  Member  States  through  various  spending 
programmes (including the EU Anti-Fraud Programme). 

OLAF, 

TAXUD, 

REFORM, 

REGIO 

In 2020, the Commission continued, through various 
spending  programmes, 
technical 
to  provide 
assistance and support to Member States. 

Done, 
and 
continuous  

Continuous 

The  new  Fiscalis4  and  Customs5  (2021-2027) 
programmes have been adopted and are operational, 
thus ensuring continuity of support.  

The  new  Customs  Control  Equipment  Instrument6 
(2021-2027),  will  provide  financial  support  to  the 
Member  States 
to  purchase  customs  control 
equipment  and  contribute  to  an  adequate  and 
equivalent level of customs controls across the EU. 

20 

Analyse  fraud  patterns  and  fraud  risks  using  case  compendiums  of  OLAF 
investigations according to needs identified. 

OLAF 

OLAF  is  continuously  analysing  fraud  patterns  and 
fraud risks, and is currently compiling a casebook on 
agricultural fraud. 

Ongoing 

and 

2021, 
then 
continuous 

A.5 Transparency 

No  Action 

21 

Refine the TED database to improve data quality. 

Closely  monitor  Member  States’  input  to  the  TED  database.  Consider  the 
possibility of audits or external evaluation. 

Lead 
service 

OP 

Support: 
GROW 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

Since  1  September  2020,  all  procurement  data 
received  for  publication  follows  a  structured, 
standard  format. Work  on  the  normalisation  of 
official names of European institutions is ongoing. 

Done 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

22 

Explore  the  possibility  of  using  existing  IT  tools  (Financial  Transparency 
improve 
System,  Single  Electronic  Data  Interchange  Area,  etc.) 
information on procurement contracts and grant agreements concluded by the 
services,  having  due  regard  to  the  requirements  mentioned  in  Article  38(2) 

to 

BUDG, 
JRC, RTD 

Support: 
GROW, 

eGrants is the corporate IT system for managing the 
Commission’s  direct  grants.  The  target  coverage  of 
eGrants is 95% of all directly managed programmes, 
and  it  is  planned  to  be  rolled  out  within  the  first  2 
years of the new Multiannual Financial Framework. 

Ongoing 

2020-2021 

4  Regulation (EU) 2021/847, OJ L 188, 28.5.2021. 

5  Regulation (EU) 2021/444, OJ L 87, 15.3.2021. 

6  Regulation (EU) 2021/1077, OJ L 234, 2.7.2021. 

11 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
FR. 

DIGIT,  OP, 
SJ 

A.6 Fraud-proofing of the legal framework for the implementation of the budget 

No  Action 

23  When drafting legal instruments for the MFF after 2020, involve OLAF at the 
early  stages  to  ensure  adequate  provisions  on  preventing,  detecting  and 
prosecuting fraud.  

This  includes  legislative  proposals,  delegated and  implementing  regulations. 
It  also  includes  the  following  types  of  documents,  if  such  documents  are  of 
systemic  importance  for  a  policy  area:  implementing  decisions,  model 
contracts and agreements, delegation agreements, guarantee agreements, calls 
for tenders/proposals/expressions of interest, and policy guidelines.  

Permanent  guidance  of  that  type,  e.g.  INTPA’s  Practical  Guide,  should  be 
regularly reviewed as necessary, involving OLAF.  

Specify  appropriate  record-keeping  requirements  in  the  context  of  financing 
not  linked  to  costs  and  simplified  cost  options,  with  a  view  to  attaining  the 
intended  simplification  effect  while  minimising  any  negative 
impact 
simplification  measures  may  have  on  the  possibility  to  detect  and  deal  with 
fraud and other irregularities.  

24  Where relevant, include fraud risks in impact assessments and evaluations of 
legal  acts and Commission  policies  required under  the Commission’s Better 
Regulation framework.  

Lead 
service 

Spending 
services7 

Support: 

OLAF/ 
BUDG 

All services 

Coor-
dination: 

SG 

Support: 

relevant 

The 
automatically 
transmitted  to  the  Financial  Transparency  System 
(FTS).  

information 

is 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

for 

All  Commission  proposals 
the  post-2020 
spending  programmes  include  standard  provisions 
on  protecting 
interests. 
Commission spending services are fully aware of the 
need to ensure continued consultation of OLAF. 

the  EU’s 

financial 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

In  April  2021,  the  Commission  adopted  a  new 
Communication  on  Better  Regulation.  The  new 
Better Regulation Toolbox is being finalised. OLAF 
has been involved to enhance the anti-fraud aspects.  

Done 

Continuous 

7  And other services launching instruments with a potential impact on the protection of the EU’s financial interests. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
No  Action 

25 

Funding  instruments  must  give  the  EPPO  and  OLAF  –  within  the  limits  of 
their  respective  competences  and  in  line  with  the  law  applicable  to  these 
bodies  –  authority  to  investigate  suspected  fraud  in  any  EU-financed 
programmes/projects,  obliging  persons  or  entities  receiving  Union  funds  to 
provide  access  to  their  premises  and  staff  and  all  relevant  documents, 
information,  etc.,  on  request.  Recipients  must  be  bound  to  oblige,  in  any 
contracts  they  conclude  with  third  parties  for  the  implementation  of  the 
project  or  funding  scheme,  those  third  parties  to  provide  for  such  access 
rights,  permitting  the  EPPO  and  OLAF  also  to  check  on  all  subcontractors, 
subsidiary  companies  and  implementation  partners  under  any  management 
mode. 

The  same  principles  apply,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  transactions  supported  by 
budgetary guarantees. 

26 

Examine  in  how  far  certification  against  ISO  standards,  most  notably  ISO 
37001  on  anti-bribery  management  systems,  could  be  required  from  entities 
applying  for  EU  funds  or  involved  in  their  implementation  under  direct, 
indirect or shared management with a view to reducing fraud risks. 

A.7 Miscellaneous 

No  Action 

27 

For  lump  sums  and  financing  not  linked  to  costs,  develop  –  across  the 
different management modes – control strategies for deliverables and for the 
analysis of non-/under delivery, in particular to detect fraud.  

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

All  Commission  proposals 
the  post-2020 
spending  programmes  include  standard  provisions 
on protecting the EU’s financial interests. 

for 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

implementing  partners  adopted 

Agreements (guarantees, contributions, partnerships) 
with 
the 
framework of external aid actions will have OLAF-
relevant clauses inserted in the texts. 

in 

Lead 
service 

OLAF 

Spending 
services 

Coor-
dination: 
BUDG 

Support:  

OLAF, SJ 

OLAF 
Support: 
GROW, 
HOME, 
BUDG,  SJ, 
spending 
services 

The  Commission  is  examining  how  far  there  is  a 
legal  basis  to  require  certification  against  ISO 
standards,  most  notably  ISO  37001  on  anti-bribery 
management systems, from entities applying for EU 
funds  or  involved  in  their  implementation  under 
direct, indirect or shared management.  

Ongoing 

2021 

Lead 
service 

Spending 
services 
Support: 
OLAF, 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

A  training  session  on  Simplified  Cost  Options 
(SCOs) was given in OLAF on 28 January 2020, in 
coordination with the DG EMPL. Coordination with 
(Réseau  des  Unités 
the  work  of 

the  RUF 

Ongoing 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

28 

Ensure  appropriate  coverage  of  fraud-related  aspects  in  the  Commission 
guidelines on Article 61 FR. 

29 

Evaluate fraud risks and vulnerabilities with regard to spending in emergency 
situations. 

Lead 
service 

BUDG 

BUDG 
Support: 
OLAF,  HR, 
SJ, SG 

Spending 
services,  in 
particular 
ECHO, 
HOME, FPI 

Coor-
dination: 

OLAF 

Support: 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

Financières/Finance  Units’  Network)  on  direct 
expenditure has been launched.  

OLAF  and  DG  BUDG  will  coordinate  further 
actions with the spending services using SCOs. 

Two  interactive  presentations  on  lump  sums  and 
financing not linked to costs took place in the RUF’s 
monthly  meetings  of  February  and  March  2020, 
during which many DGs shared their experience.  

Since  December  2020,  DG  BUDG  has  given  four 
information  sessions on  the use  of  simplified forms 
of  grants,  open  to  colleagues  in  all  services  and 
agencies.  Two  more  are  planned  in  the  2nd  half  of 
2021.  These  information  sessions  give  an  overview 
of  the  rules  for  using  simplified  forms  of  grants, 
including how they can be authorised and acceptable 
methodologies that can be used to set amounts. 

The  Commission  published  the  ‘Guidance  on  the 
avoidance  and  management  of  conflicts  of  interest 
under the Financial Regulation’ on 9 April 2021. 

Done 

2020 

In  cooperation  with  the  lead  Commission  services 
for  this  action,  OLAF  has  developed  the  work  plan 
which is now being implemented. 

Partially 
done 

2021 

Work  is  ongoing  according  to  the  agreed  schedule, 
and the services have provided descriptions of funds 
and  risks.  OLAF  and  the  services  involved  will 
evaluate 
impact  and 
mitigating measures in a common framework.  

the  risks  for 

likelihood, 

14 

 
 
 
 
No  Action 

30 

Regularly revise and update the corporate IT security strategy and monitor its 
implementation.  Optimise  the systems of  the Commission  and the  executive 
agencies  for  secure  operation  of  e-procurement,  e-grants  and  other  channels 
of e-governance.  

Lead 
service 

BUDG 

DIGIT 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

The IT security strategy was adopted by the IT and 
Cybersecurity Board (ITCB) in February 2019, with 
an associated action plan. The implementation of the 
strategy is closely  monitored and reported on to the 
ITCB  on  a  quarterly  basis.  The  IT  strategy 
undergoes a regular revision process on a bi-annual 
basis.  The  revision  process  of  the  strategy  was 
launched  in  Q3/Q4  2020,  and  the  resulting  updated 
version  for  2021-2022  was  presented  to  the  ITCB 
for adoption in January 2021. 

A.8 Expenditure 

a)  Direct management 

No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

31 

If not yet done, set-up advisory peer groups for clusters of services to review 
riskier (e.g. larger, complex) projects, in the frame of internal control.  

All services 

Coor-
dination: 

BUDG 

Support: 

OLAF, 
GROW 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

2020 

The  RRF  and  e-Procurement  can  be  considered 
‘complex’ projects for which clusters of services are 
involved.  A  wide  group  of  Commission  services  is 
in charge of assessing Member States’ RRF plans. 

E-procurement  is  part  of  the  Commission’s  actions 
to  put  in  place  a  single  data  interchange  area  for 
submitting, storing and processing data in grant and 
procurement procedures. This is a Commission-wide 
initiative  involving  many  DGs  developing  four 
business  processes:  preparation  (JRC),  submission 
and  evaluation  (GROW),  contract  management 
(INTPA)  and  inventory  and  logistics  management 
(OIB).  The  objectives  of  the  contract  management 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

process are to: be fully integrated with the financial, 
budgetary  and  accounting  processes  (ABAC,  later 
SUMMA);  re-use  the  solid  architecture  of  eGrants 
(SEDIA solutions, SYGMA). 

The  GPSB  (Grants  Procurement  Steering  Board)-
SUMMA  common  working  group  was  set  up  to 
design/optimise the SYGMA-SUMMA solution.  

The  e-Procurement  project  is  scheduled  to  be  90% 
completed in 2024.  

The  corporate  procurement-related  training  cycle  is 
in place and contains fraud prevention elements.  

and 

Done, 
continuous 

32  Maintain  and  reinforce  the  corporate  procurement-related  training  cycle,  a 
procurement  community  of  practice, and continuous support  (e.g. templates, 
helpdesk),  including  training  and  support  for  staff  who  are  exceptionally 
involved in a procurement process (e.g. policy officers). 

33  Where  appropriate, 

include  specific  anti-fraud  measures  among 

the 

‘conditionalities’ for budget support. 

For  budget  support  and  macro-financial  assistance,  where  appropriate, 
improve control strategies and strengthen verification mechanisms. 

34  Having due regard to data protection legislation, 

o  examine the possibility of setting up a database of experts involved in 

EU-funded projects to prevent or detect double claims; and 

o  explore the possibility of making such a database or certain elements 
thereof  public,  building  on  the  Financial  Transparency  System  and 
the Register of Commission Expert Groups.  

HR/BUDG 

Support: 
GROW, 
OLAF 

INTPA, 
NEAR, 
ECFIN 
Support: 
OLAF, 
BUDG 

OLAF 

Support: 

Spending 
services, 
DIGIT, 
BUDG,  SJ, 
SG 

The  training  available  also  include  targeted  ad  hoc 
sessions. 

The  recommendations  of  the  ECA’s  special  report 
25/2019  are  being  implemented,  with  additional 
safeguards  where 
report’s 
recommendations  are  reflected  in  the  template  for 
action  documents,  and  their  implementation,  along 
with  the  OPSYS  module,  should  be  finalised  this 
year.  

appropriate.  The 

A  database  of  experts  exists;  there  are  calls  for 
the  contractual 
interest,  where 
expressions  of 
conditions,  including  data  protection  issues,  are 
made  available  to  the  experts.  Most  of  the  experts 
are  managed  by  the  eExpert  IT  tool  linked  to 
SYGMA and eGrants under the management of DG 
RTD/ REA. 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

Ongoing 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

2021 

Partially 
done, 
continuous 

and 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No  Action 

35  Optimise internal workflows regarding budgetary guarantees. 

b)  Indirect management 

No  Action 

36  Obtain  assurance  about  internal  control  of  entrusted entities,  financial  (sub-) 

intermediaries, fund managers, etc., e.g., through: 

o  Positive assessment of the equivalence of the entities’ systems, rules and 
procedures with those of the Commission regarding the pillar on internal 
control as provided for in Article 154(3) and (4)(a) FR, including controls 
concerning  risks  of  error,  irregularities  and  fraud,  which  must  allow  to 
properly  and  timely  prevent,  detect  and  correct  fraud  and  other 
irregularities; 

Lead 
service 

BUDG 

Support:  

ECFIN, 
OLAF, 
INTPA, 
NEAR 

Lead 
service 

Spending 
services 
Support: 
BUDG, 
ECFIN, 
INTPA, 
OLAF 

o  Encouraging  the exchange  of  best  practice regarding anti-fraud  policies, 
instruments  and  budgetary 

the  domain  of  financial 

in 

including 
guarantees. 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

 Done 

2020 

A  Steering  Committee  on  Contingent  Liabilities 
arising  from  Budgetary  Guarantees  was  established 
through  the  Commission  Decision  of  24  July  2020 
(C(2020)  5154  final).  The  Committee  is  composed 
of  representatives  of  the  DGs  ECFIN,  INTPA, 
NEAR and SG. The Steering Committee focuses on 
cross-cutting  issues  covering  budgetary  guarantees 
and financial assistance.  

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

Work  is ongoing  in  the framework  of  the InvestEU 
Working  Group 
investment 
guidelines. 

InvestEU 

and 

Partially 
done 

Continous 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
c)  Shared management 

No  Action 

37 

Encourage  Member  States  to  put  in  place  national  anti-fraud  strategies,  and 
provide advice and support in this respect.  

38  Where appropriate and possible, reinforce Member States’ obligations for the 

post-2020 MFF throughout the anti-fraud cycle. 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due Date 

In  recent  years,  the  Commission  has  encouraged 
to  adopt  national  anti-fraud 
Member  States 
strategies.  By  the  end  of  2020,  14  Member  States8  
had reported adopting their strategies. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

2019-2020 

The  Commission  has  proposed,  for  example,  to 
make the use of risk scoring tools by Member States 
mandatory. Whenever possible, OLAF has included 
standard  provisions  in  the  partnership  agreements 
and operational programmes with Member States on, 
inter  alia,  strengthening  capacity  to  detect,  report 
irregularities  and  on  fully 
and  follow-up  on 
exploiting  the  available  data-mining  tools,  such  as 
ARACHNE.  

Lead 
service 

REGIO, 
AGRI, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 
HOME 

Coor-
dination and 
support: 
OLAF 

1)  REGIO, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 
HOME 

Coor-
dination: 
REGIO 

AGRI 

2) 
Support  

(1  and  2): 
BUDG, 
GROW, 
OLAF, SJ 

39 

Explore the possibility of applying the underlying rationale of Action Point 36 
to financial instruments under shared management. 

REGIO, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 

The  possibility  has  been  explored.  Following 
discussion with DG BUDG and shared management 
DGs,  the  pillar  assessment  is  not  considered  to  be 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

2021 

8  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Croatia,  Czechia,  France,  Greece,  Hungary,  Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Malta,  Portugal,  Slovakia  and  Sweden.  Out  of  these,  Czechia  informed  the  Commission  of  having 

updated its strategy, but has not yet transmitted the new document; Portugal has indicated having adopted a strategy, but has not formally transmitted it to the Commission. 

18 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
AGRI, 
HOME 

Coor- 

dination: 
REGIO 

Support: 

OLAF, 
JRC, 
BUDG, SJ 

HOME, 

SG 
Support: 
OLAF 

REGIO 

Support: 
GROW 

GROW 

Support: 
REGIO 

40 

European Semester:  

Analyse/monitor Member States’ general anti-corruption policies through the 
country reports.  

Explore  the  possibility  and  merits  of  extending  the  country  reports  to  cover 
Member States’ policies for protecting the EU’s financial interests from fraud. 

41 

Promote  integrity  pacts  for  safeguarding  EU  funds  against  fraud  and 
corruption 

42 

Promote the voluntary  ex-ante assessment  mechanism  for  the compliance of 
large-scale  infrastructure  projects  with  EU  procurement  rules.  Measures 
would include a helpdesk function and an information exchange mechanism. 

for 

systems, 

appropriate  for  shared  management  DGs.  The 
requirements  to  collect  and  make  available  in  the 
control  purposes, 
management 
dedicated  information  on  beneficial  owners,  final 
beneficiaries, 
sub-
contractors  have  been  further  sharpened  following 
the  2021-2027  common 
the  negotiations  on 
provisions  regulation  in  the  field  of  cohesion  (see 
Annex to Article 63 new CPR). 

recipients,  contractors  and 

DG  HOME  conducts  a  yearly  analysis  of  Member 
States’  general  anti-corruption  policies.  In  addition, 
the Commission’s annual rule of law report monitors 
the  anti-corruption  frameworks  of  all  27  Member 
States. 

Done  

Continuous
2021 

annual 

sustainable 

The 
strategy 
COM(2020)575 of 17 September 2020 includes anti-
fraud  frameworks,  as  needed  to  boost  absorption 
capacities of EU funds.  

growth 

OLAF,  as  lead  service  on  matters  related  to  the 
protection  of 
interests, 
participates in the RRF country teams. 

the  Union’s 

financial 

The  Commission 
pacts, 
promotes 
especially for large-scale investments in the domains 
considered most prone to fraud. 

integrity 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

Continuous 

The  Commission  has  put  in  place  the  helpdesk 
function and the information exchange mechanism. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

A  short  animation  video  (available  in  all  EU 
languages)  provides  information  on  how  national 
authorities  and  contractual  authorities/entities  can 

19 

 
 
 
 
use  the  mechanism.  The  ex-ante  mechanism  was 
also promoted via an infrastructure forum organised 
by the Commission. 

A.9 Revenue - traditional own resources (TOR) 

No  Action 

Lead service  Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

43 

44 

45 

Review  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  515/979  with  a  view  to  increasing 
mutual assistance among and cooperation with national customs authorities. 

OLAF 

The  evaluation  of  Regulation  515/97  is  ongoing.  A 
report on the evaluation is due by Q3 2021. 

Ongoing 

2020 

Continue to ensure effective and efficient fraud prevention and detection in 
the area of TOR at Commission level through a strategic steering function, 
meeting regularly at Director and at technical level, composed of TAXUD, 
BUDG and OLAF as permanent members and other interested services (in 
particular TRADE, AGRI, MARE) on an ad-hoc basis. 

Coordination: 
rotates among 
TAXUD, 
BUDG 
OLAF.  

and 

There  are 
meetings at Director level. 

regular  strategic  steering 

function 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

Strengthen the Commission’s and the Member States’ analytical capacities 
in the anti-fraud customs area by sharing approaches and good practices and 
by increasing awareness and making best use of data sources. Improve the 
exchange  of  risk  information  and  risk  analysis  through  the  common 
Customs Risk Management System (‘Reshape of CRMS2’). 

Support: 

All TOR DGs 

OLAF, 

JRC, 

TAXUD 

Support: 

BUDG 

The  customs  action  plan  was  adopted  on  23 
September 2020. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

OLAF,  supported  by  the  JRC,  continues  to  work 
with  Member  State  customs  data  analysts  to  share 
analytical experiences and improve learning.  

The  release  of  CRMS  2  is  planned  for  the  end  of 
2021. 

46 

Strengthen  international  cooperation  on  customs  matters,  with  Belarus, 
China,  Georgia,  Moldova,  Russia,  Ukraine  and  the  United  Arab  Emirates 

TAXUD, 
OLAF 

In December 2019, the Council adopted negotiating 
directives  for  a  customs  cooperation  and  mutual 
administrative assistance (CCMAA) agreement with 

Partially 
done, 

and 

Continuous 

9  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  515/97  of  13  March  1997  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 agricultural matters, OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1, as amended. 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
No  Action 

among others.  

Lead service  Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

Belarus  and  negotiating  texts  were  exchanged  in 
2020.  The scheduled negotiations have been put  on 
hold for political reasons. 

continuous 

An  evaluation  study  on  implementing  the  customs 
cooperation  and  mutual  administrative  assistance 
agreement  with  China  has  been  finalised.  The  final 
report  of  the  evaluation  study  was  published  in 
October 2020.  

The  Western  Balkans  and  Turkey  are  party  to 
Customs 2020. 

The  mutual  recognition  of  AEOs  between  the  EU 
and Moldova started in March 2020.  

Ukraine 
is  developing  a  national  Authorized 
Economic  Operators  (AEO)  programme  before  the 
start  of 
the  Mutual  Recognition  Arrangement 
(MRA) with the EU.  

There  is  work  in  progress  towards  the  accession  to 
the  Common  Transit  Convention  of  Ukraine, 
Moldova,  Georgia,  Montenegro  and  Bosnia-
Herzegovina, with all five countries working on the 
deployment  of  New  Computerized  Transit  System 
(NCTS).  Preparations  are  ongoing  to  enable  these 
and other non-EU countries to participate in the new 
EU Customs and Fiscalis programmes.  

47  Develop anti-fraud measures in preferential tariff arrangements. 

OLAF 

Negotiations  are  ongoing 
in  particular  with 
Australia,  Indonesia  and  Tunisia.  Agreement  has 
been reached on an anti-fraud clause with Chile and 
New Zealand. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2020, 
then 
continuous 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
No  Action 

Lead service  Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

48 

Implement the 2nd Commission Action Plan to fight the illicit tobacco trade 
2018-202210,  
with a view to: 

OLAF 

- deepening engagement with key source and transit countries; 

- addressing the issue of non-branded ‘cheap whites’ cigarettes in particular. 

Implementation  is  ongoing,  with  additional  key 
initiatives  completed  or  in  progress.  20  actions, out 
of  at  least  25  for  which OLAF  is  responsible,  have 
been completed. No actions have been cancelled due 
to COVID-19, but some have been postponed or are 
ongoing  on  a  virtual  basis  (such  as  the  Meeting  of 
the Parties).  

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

A.10 Revenue - value added tax (VAT) 

No  Action 

Lead service  Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

49 

Support  the  adoption  and  phasing-in  of  a  revamped  VAT  system11,  under 
which  cross-border  intra-EU  transactions  will  be  taxed  in  the  customer’s 
country, while reporting and payment of VAT is carried out in the Member 
State of the supplier. 

TAXUD 

50 

Support  the  implementation  of  the amendments to  the Council  Regulation 
on  administrative  cooperation  and  combating  fraud  in  the  field  of  VAT 
(2010/904/EU), in particular with regard to data exchanges and cooperation 
among tax authorities and Eurofisc and with OLAF, Europol and the EPPO. 

TAXUD, 

OLAF 

The  proposal  for a Directive on  the  definitive VAT 
system  is  under  discussion  in  Council.  The  latest 
discussions  focused  on  the  possibility  of  including 
measures,  additional  to  and  compatible  with  those 
featuring  in  the  proposal,  to  strengthen  the  fraud-
proof character of that definitive system. 

The  2020  Tax  Action  Plan  on  fair  and  simple 
taxation  announced  a  legislative  proposal  in  2022 
under the heading ‘VAT in the Digital Age’. 

The  Commission  has  produced  a  guide  to  the 
cooperation of the Eurofisc network with OLAF and 
Europol to fight VAT fraud based on the new legal 
base  introduced  in  2018.  The  guide  has  been 
endorsed  by  Eurofisc  and  is  now  being  used  by 
Member States.  

Ongoing 

Continuous 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

10  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee of 7 December 2018, COM (2018) 846 final. 

11  Commission Proposal of 4 October 2017 for a Council Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards harmonising and simplifying certain rules in the value added tax system and 
introducing  the  definitive  system  for  the  taxation  of  trade  between  Member  States,  COM  (2017)  569  final,  and  Commission  Proposal  of  25  May  2018  for  a  Council  Directive  amending 
directive  2006/112/EC  as  regards  the  introduction  of  the  detailed  technical  measures  for  the  operation  of  the  definitive  VAT  system  for  the  taxation  of  trade  between  Member  States, 
COM(2018) 329 final. 

22 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Reinforce Eurofisc’s  role  in  tackling  cross-border  VAT  fraud,  particularly 
by making better use of the information available within the network. 

51 

Strengthen  the  international  exchange  of  best  practice.  Based  on  Council 
mandates,  strengthen  administrative  co-operation  and  mutual  assistance  in 
the recovery of VAT claims with non-EU countries. 

TAXUD 

Exchanges of information with some Member States 
based  on  Regulation  (EU)  904/2010  have  already 
taken  place  as  part  of  OLAF  investigations,  with 
encouraging results. 

The  Commission  is  working  on  streamlining  the 
cross-checking  of  customs  and  VAT  data  on  VAT 
exempt  imports  (customs  procedure  42)  that  would 
use Eurofisc and OLAF capabilities. 
The  Commission  has  had  exploratory  talks  with 
Canada,  Japan  and  Australia.  Following 
the 
Council’s  endorsement  to  conclude  a  non-binding 
agreement, TAXUD met the Chinese State Taxation 
Administration  (STA)  in  May  2021.  The  parties 
agreed 
to  conclude  a 
the  procedure 
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the 
EU  and  China  on  VAT  administrative  cooperation. 
If negotiations proceed smoothly, the MoU could be 
concluded by Q4 2021. 

to  start 

Ongoing 

Continuous 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B. INVESTIGATION 

B.1 European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and PIF Directive 

No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

52 

Support  the  setting-up  of  the  EPPO  and  provide  it  with  administrative 
assistance in the start-up phase. 

JUST/ 
OLAF 

Support: 
HR, BUDG, 
OIL 

All  services 
Support: 
OLAF 

53 

Cooperation with the EPPO: 

The  Commission,  like  all  EU  institutions  and  bodies,  and  national 
competent  authorities,  must  without  undue  delay  report  to  the  EPPO  any 
criminal  conduct  in  respect  of  which  it  could  exercise  its  competence 
(Article 24 of Regulation 2017/193913). To comply with  this obligation by 
the  time  the  EPPO  becomes  operational,  services  should  have  efficient 
procedures  in  place  to  carry  out  a  preliminary  evaluation  of  allegations 
reported to them. 

The  EPPO  Regulation  provides  that  EU  institutions  and  bodies  may  make 

Done  

2019-2020 

Ongoing 

2020, 
continuous 

and 

OLAF  and  the  Commission  have  been  working  on 
setting up the EPPO since the entry into force of the 
Regulation (November 2017).  

Since  the  formal  constitution  of  the  EPPO  College 
on  28  September  2020,  the Commission  has  almost 
entirely ceased to provide provisional administrative 
support  to  the  EPPO,  in  accordance  with  Article 
20(4) of the EPPO Regulation12. The EPPO adopted 
its own financial rules on 13 January 2021 as part of 
the  process  towards  financial  autonomy.  It  has 
reached  administrative  autonomy  and,  on  1  June 
2021, started its operational activities. 

Shortly after the entry into operation of the EPPO in 
June  2021, 
the  EPPO 
the  Commission  and 
concluded an agreement on their mutual cooperation 
(lead  service  in  the  Commission:  the  Secretariat-
General).  On  29  June  2021, 
the  Corporate 
Management Board endorsed the internal workflows 
within the Commission to implement the agreement. 
These  envisage  that  OLAF  will  transmit  notified 
allegations  of  fraud  and  other  breaches  potentially 
falling within the EPPO’s competence to the EPPO, 

12  Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) 

13  Council  Regulation  (EU)  2017/1939  of  12  October  2017  implementing  enhanced  cooperation  on  the  establishment  of  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (‘the  EPPO’),  OJ  L  283, 

31.10.2017, p. 1. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

use  of  OLAF  for  this  preliminary  evaluation  (Recital  51).  Commission 
services and executive agencies should systematically make use of OLAF's 
expertise  as  a  final  quality  control  for  the  preliminary  evaluation  of 
allegations and put in place the necessary procedures for that to happen. 

54 

Support  Member  States’  transposition  and  implementation  of  the  PIF-
Directive. 

JUST/ 
OLAF 

following a preliminary evaluation. 

Additional  work  will  be  done  to  provide  guidance 
and  procedural  rules  for  services  on  how  to  report 
fraud and how to work with OLAF and the EPPO. 

Progress on transposition was discussed in meetings 
of the EPPO Expert Group in 2020. According to the 
state of transposition in the 26 Member States bound 
by the Directive, infringement proceedings for non-
communication  of 
transposition  measures  were 
opened, brought forward, or closed in 2020.   

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

B.2 European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) 

No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

55  Negotiate  the  Commission's  proposal  for  the  review  of  the  OLAF 

OLAF 

Regulation14 in order to: 

o  adapt  how  OLAF  operates  following  the  establishment  of  the 

EPPO; 
improve the effectiveness of OLAF’s investigative role; and 

o 
o  clarify and simplify the OLAF Regulation. 

56   Optimise  cooperation  between  services/other  EU  bodies  and  OLAF  by, 

among other actions: 

o  defining the role and responsibilities of OLAF contact points in the 

various services; 

o  making  the  reporting  of  information  of  potential  investigative 

Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2020/2223  amending 
Regulation 883/2013 was published in the OJ on 28 
December 2020 and entered into force on 17 January 
2021. 

Done 

2019-2020 

All  services 
Coor-
dination: 
OLAF 
Support: 
SG,  BUDG, 

The  OLAF  Correspondent  guidelines  were  adopted 
on  14  January  2021.  They  define  the  role  of  the 
OLAF  Correspondent  in  Commission  DGs  and 
executive  agencies  more  clearly  and  in  a  uniform 
way. 

and 

Done, 
continuous 

and 

2019, 
then 
continuous 

14  Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European 

Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) as regards cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the effectiveness of OLAF investigations of 23 May 2018, COM (2018) 338. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
                                                 
o 

o 

No  Action 

interest more efficient through direct channels between the services 
and OLAF; 

o  clarifying as necessary the respective responsibilities of OLAF and 

the services at an operational level; 

Lead 
service 

partner  DGs 
of  other  EU 
bodies  

improving  OLAF’s  communication  on  its  dismissal  of  cases 
reported by the services; 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due date 

An  OLAF  proposal  to  create  a  link  to  a  ‘Fraud 
report’ page on the website of all DGs and services 
has  been  discussed  within  the  FPDNet  sub-groups 
on  external  actions,  shared  management  and  direct 
management. 
OLAF  has  improved  the  level  of  explanation  given 
to  EU  institutions,  bodies,  offices  and  agencies  for 
the dismissals of cases brought by them.  

reinforcing  cooperation  between  the  shared  management  DGs  and 
OLAF to obtain information of potential investigative interest from 
Member State authorities; and 

The  OLAF  Correspondents  guidelines  clarify  the 
reporting,  the  cooperation  and  the  exchange  of 
information during the selection process. 

o  encouraging the EEAS and other EU bodies to join such initiatives 

for better cooperation. 

57 

Following thorough legal analysis, develop criteria for the scope of possible 
investigations in cases of budget support. 

OLAF/SJ 

Support: 

INTPA, 
NEAR, 
ECFIN  

EEAS  is  invited  to  the  FPDNet  meetings  and  is  a 
member  of  the  FPDNet  sub-group  on  external 
actions.  The  EIB  has  been  invited  to  FPDNet 
meetings on an ad hoc basis as observers. 

Some provisions exist in Article 236 of the Financial 
Regulation  applicable  to  budget  support,  and  in  the 
financing agreements signed with non-EU countries. 

Ongoing 

2020 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C. CORRECTIVE MEASURES AND SANCTIONS; FOLLOW-UP OF OLAF RECOMMENDATIONS 

No  Action 

Lead 
service 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due Date 

58 

Evaluate and optimise the EDES, including cooperation between OLAF and 
other actors, in the light of the recent IAS audit. 

BUDG/ 
OLAF 

Integrate  information  about  how  to  consult  and  operate  the  EDES  into 
corporate anti-fraud training. 

59  Apply  OLAF’s  "Instructions  on  drafting  Financial  Recommendations  and 
related  sections  of  the  Final  Report"  and  "Guidelines  on  Financial 
Monitoring" and provide training if needed. 

60  Closely  monitor  Member  States’ 

follow-up  of  OLAF’s 

financial 

recommendations. 

Coordination for the purposes of systemic follow-up in the FPDNet and by 
the Corporate Management Board. 

OLAF 

Support: 
BUDG 

REGIO, 
EMPL, 
MARE, 
AGRI, 
HOME, 

OLAF  

Following  an  agreement  between  OLAF  and  DG 
BUDG  on  the  use  of  OLAF  reports  within  EDES 
procedures, the corporate guidelines and the training 
activities have been updated. Information on how to 
consult  and  operate  the  EDES  is  given  in  the 
dedicated training sessions. 

Done 

2019 

Based  on  exchanges  among 
the  Commission 
services,  revised  corporate  guidance  is  planned  for 
2021.  

and 

Done, 
continuous 

Continuous 

There is continuous cooperation between OLAF and 
the  Commission  services  to  improve  the  follow-up 
to OLAF’s financial recommendations. 

The  Commission 
services  monitor  OLAF’s 
recommendations and report on them in their annual 
activity reports.  

Done, 
and 
continuous  

Continuous 

OLAF’s  Task  Force  Monitoring  presents 
activities to the FPDNet plenary regularly.  

its 

OLAF’s  Director-General  regularly  presents  the 
state of play to the Corporate Management Board. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
61  Closely  monitor 
administrative 
recommendations, 
the 
Administrative  Arrangements  between  the  Commission  and  OLAF  (see 
Action Point 9). 

the  general  monitoring  under 

follow-up  of  OLAF’s 

services’ 
to  feed 

into 

D. REPORTING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAFS 

No  Action 

62  Refine:  

o 

o 

reporting  about  service-level  anti-fraud  strategies  through  the  annual 
activity reports;  

the  contents  of  the  Annual  Management  and  Performance  Report 
(AMPR) with regard to anti-fraud action;  

o 

the role of other reporting channels; 

while keeping in mind that documents intended for the institutions and the 
general public need to be of a reasonable length and easy to read. 

63 

In  close  cooperation  with  the  Commission’s  internal  control  and  ethics 
functions,  develop  or  refine  result  and  impact  indicators  for  the  CAFS 
objectives,  including  measuring  anti-fraud  awareness  among  staff.  Provide 
advice on the indicators to be used for service-level anti-fraud strategies. 

OLAF 

OLAF’s  instructions  and  OLAF’s  guidelines  for 
monitoring  administrative  recommendations  were 
endorsed  by  OLAF  senior  management  in  April 
2021.  

Partially 
done, 
continuous 

and 

Continuous 

In  2021,  OLAF  will  launch  a  stocktaking  exercise 
on the follow-up to administrative recommendations 
issued  in  recent  years.  Going  forward,  OLAF  will 
regularly monitor the follow-up to its administrative 
recommendations. 

Lead 
service 

SG/BUDG/ 
OLAF 

Action taken (state of play) 

Status 

Due Date 

Done 

2019-2020 

discussions  with 

Following  OLAF’s 
the 
Commission’s central services, the templates for the 
new strategic and management plans now contain a 
separate section on ‘fraud risk management’ to allow 
for more specific reporting on anti-fraud measures.  

OLAF  contributed  to  the  AMPR  with  a  dedicated 
section  on  the  fight  against  fraud  and  on  anti-fraud 
strategies. 

The Commission reports in its Annual Report on the 
Protection of the Union’s Financial Interests and the 
Fight against Fraud (PIF Report) on the progress of 
the CAFS implementation. 

OLAF 

Support: 
SG/BUDG/
HR/JRC 

An  FPDNet  sub-group  on  CAFS  indicators  was 
created  in  November  2019  and  met  in  February 
2020. Indicators for the CAFS objectives have been 
developed and shared with the FPDNet. 

Done 

OLAF  provides  advice  to  Commission  services  on 
anti-fraud indicators in the context of the SPP cycle.  

Preliminary 
result 
indicators  for 
priority 
objectives  by 
2020 

28