Three quarters of the 3.1 billion euro squandered in irregular agricultural payments from 1971-2002 has not been recovered due to inefficiencies at both Member State and Commission level

Three quarters of the 3.1 billion euro squandered in irregular agricultural payments from 1971-2002 has not been recovered due to inefficiencies at both Member State and Commission level, according to a new report. The two billion euro plus in fradulent payments is not being recovered or written off, due to weaknesses both in Brussels and in Member States, according to a new report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Some of the deficiences highlighted by the report include: delays by Member States in notifying the Commission and discrepancies in the data provided. The ECA also blames "national administrative delays" and "the Commission's reluctance to accept offers of partial settlement". When CAP (common agricultural policy) payments of more than 4000 euro are found to be "irregular" or fraudulent, Member States must notify the Commission and attempt to recover the payments. If the payments cannot be recovered, and the Member State was not negligent in the matter, the costs are covered by the EU or written off as unrecoverable. David Bostock, an ECA member who presented the report, said in a statement, "recovery of reported irregular payments is disappointingly partial and slow". The fraud is concentrated in the export and fruit and vegetable sectors, said the ECA.