Fight against fraud: working programme 1996

The budgetary control committee unanimously adopted a report by Mrs Rosemarie WEMHEUER on Commission proposals aimed at improving the fight against fraud on the EU's budget through better management and analyses of how the EU spends its money. The report argues that a more readable programme with a clearer and more understandable structure would make it easier to monitor progress. The changes proposed include: -simultaneous presentation of the work programme and the Commission's annual report; -publication, in an annex to the report, of the main Council decisions and the background documents used by the Commission departments concerned, along with instructions on how to combat fraud; -systematic analysis of the causes of fraud. Two problems areas are the complexity of regulations and monitoring their application. It is also necessary to establish whether the use of subsidies and refunds in high risk areas fulfil their goal or could be replaced by other more efficient means, less susceptible to fraud. The committee was impressed by the quality of the report for 1995, and felt that this reflected the greater effectiveness of the Commission's campaign against fraud. �