Debate: Protection of the EU’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022
Speaker: Virginijus Sinkevičius
Language: EN

The Commission and Parliament agree that the protection of the EU budget, both in terms of expenditure and revenue, is of the utmost importance. And the efforts of the Parliament, Commission and Member States in the fight against fraud have been remarkable in recent years, and particularly given the challenges caused by the COVID—19 pandemic. To help Europe recover from the pandemic, the EU has set up an unprecedented financial package through the new multiannual budget and the Next Generation EU, amounting to more than EUR 2 trillion. Protecting this money from fraud, corruption and other illegal activities is key. We at EU level and with our partners in the Member States need to use all available tools to ensure we are more effective than ever before in ensuring that money is properly spent. We have no other choice. It is for this reason that the Commission, like the Parliament, welcomes the results achieved by the European Anti-Fraud Office in 2021 and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in its first year of activity. Another of the latest additions to our toolkit is the Conditionality Regulation, which allows for measures when breaches to the principles of the rule of law threaten the EU financial interest. As you know, the Commission sent a written notification to one Member State and we are currently assessing the reply we got. We also continue assessing the situation across Member States. This regulation is the latest brick added to a revamped EU anti-fraud architecture, which has been built up in recent years, and comprises strengthened investigative functions for the European Anti-Fraud Office, the just mentioned European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the coordinating role of Eurojust, the support of Europol and close cooperation with and between the national authorities. We must ensure that this architecture remains fit for current and future challenges. And I will highlight three main themes in this respect: coordination and harmonisation; digitalisation of the fight against fraud; and stepping up the fight against corruption and organised crime. So first, our complex architecture needs coordination and harmonisation. All Member States against which the Commission has launched infringement procedures should swiftly take action and modify national legislation to correctly transpose the so-called PIF Directive. Furthermore, the Commission has made great efforts to promote the adoption of the national anti-fraud strategies. Their number is increasing and the Commission welcomes this development and has supported Member States with guidance and knowledge—sharing. Secondly, digitalisation and the availability of quality data on the recipients of EU funds and their beneficial owners is also important. The targeted adjustments of the Financial Regulation will be an opportunity to enhance protection of the EU budget by reinforcing the use of the digitalisation of controls and audits, and improving interoperability and the quality of the data for controls and audits, including both through the use of a single integrated IT system for data mining and risk—scoring. It will also be an opportunity to enhance transparency and public scrutiny with regard to the use of the EU budget, notably by requiring Member States implementing the Union budget under the shared management to send information to the Commission on the recipients of Union funding at least once a year. The Commission would then centralise this information on a single website. We have also proposed to extend the early detection and exclusion system to funds and the shared management for serious misconduct. The Commission’s anti-fraud strategy, adopted in 2019, has largely been implemented. The results will be included in the next report on the protection of financial interests. We are now considering a revision of the action plan accompanying the strategy in line with our high anti-fraud ambitions. Digitalisation will be an important topic. Thirdly, fighting corruption is a key element of the European Semester, as reflected in country specific recommendations and in the measures included by Member States in their recovery and resilience plans. Concerning organised crime, we have developed a comprehensive and integrated approach under the EU Security Union strategy and the most recent EU strategy to tackle organised crime adopted in 2021. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is also competent to investigate crimes affecting the Union budget committed by criminal organisations such as VAT carousel fraud. These initiatives are prime examples of our continuous engagement in the fight against fraud. So I thank you for your attention and I look forward to a constructive debate.