EAGGF-Guarantee Section. 26th Financial Report 1996

Adopting the report by Mr Klaus Rehder (PES, D) on the 26th financial report concerning the EAGGF Guarantee Section, Parliament denounces the fact that the bewildering array of application procedures for agricultural aid is an open invitation to abuse and calls for a simplification of the rules as part of the Agenda 2000 reforms. Stressing the complexity of the procedures, Parliament points out that problems also result from the fact that the frequency and thoroughness of checks differ substantially from Member State to Member State and that breaches of EU law are not always properly punished. It takes the view that abuses result from deliberate misuse of EAGGF funding, a lack of control by Member States and inadequate control systems in the Member States. Parliament calls for improvements in instruments of control and procedures for recovery of undue payments. It considers that the weakness of control instruments and recovery procedures lead the public to doubt whether budgetary management in the EAGGF sector is genuinely coherent and transparent. �