Fight against fraud and protection of the European Communities' financial interests

PURPOSE : to present a report from the Commission concerning protecting the Communities' financial interests - Fight against fraud - Action Plan for 2004-2005.

CONTENT : following along the same lines as its 2001-2003 Action Plan, the Commission's 2004-2005 Action Plan on the protection of financial interests and the fight against fraud calls for the continued implementation of the overall strategic approachadopted by the Commission on 28 June 2000, which defined the broad guidelines for the Community and the Member States for the five years ahead (2001 to 2005).

The new 2004-2005 action plan corresponds to the second stage of the programme, in the framework of the 2000 overall strategic approach, and follows the four main action guidelines described above. It also takes into account the new guidelines set out in the Progress report on the activities of OLAF and the measures announced in the Commission President's speechin November 2003. Specifically, the 2004-2005 Action Plan testifies to the Commission's ongoing commitment to the fight against fraud and contains one of its responses to the new challenges relating to the development of the Union in 2004 and 2005.

The Plan comprises:

- actions that it was not possible to implement in the previous period and actions that still have to be decided on in order to complete implementation of the overall strategic approach, in particular the strengthening of the operational partnership with the Member States;

- recent developments relating to the reinforcement of the legal framework of OLAF, as recommended by the Commission in its progress report on the activities of OLAFand by the President of the Commission in his Action Plan of 18 November 2003. Because of the weaknesses revealed by the Eurostat case, the Commission thinks it necessary to act more rapidly and thoroughly than originally envisaged in the progress report. Consequently, a number of initiatives, some of which are already being implemented, will be taken in addition to the recommendations of the Progress report;

- a number of more specific initiatives, such as the White Book on the European Prosecutor, or other initiatives, which respond to specific requests or needs, such as the handling of irregularities notified before 1 January 1999 in relation to the EAGGF-guarantee section ("Recovery" Task-Force) or the simplification of the procedures for notifying irregularities (EAGGF-Guarantee, Structural Funds, Cohesion Fund).

This new Action Plan emphasises the following policy guidelines and priorities:

- reinforcing the regulatory framework of May 1999 for OLAF's activities and competencies (improving the information flow between OLAF and the European institutions and bodies;

- fully guaranteeing the rights of individuals affected by an external or internal inquiry;

- strengthening OLAF's operational efficiency and enhancing the role of the Office's Supervisory Committee);

- improving the information flow between the Member States and the Commission, for example by amending the regulations on notification of irregularities; developing the Customs Investigations Information File ("FIDE") and implementing the new Regulation concerning mutual administrative assistance in the field of VAT and the laundering of profits from Community fraud;

- developing the criminal-law protection of the Community's financial interests with the competent authorities in the Member States, for example by following up the decision of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to establish, in the constitutional treaty, the legal basis for creating a European Prosecutor with competence for protecting the financial interests of the European Union.