The European Union needs a faster and more accountable system for tackling fraud against its budget, with fewer gaps between responsible authorities and a much stronger focus on recovering taxpayers’ money.

The European Union needs a faster and more accountable system for tackling fraud against its budget, with fewer gaps between responsible authorities and a much stronger focus on recovering taxpayers’ money, ECR Co-Rapporteur Dick Erixon said following today’s vote in the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee.

A Parliament own-initiative report, co-led by Erixon, sets out priorities for reforming the EU’s anti-fraud system ahead of the next long-term budget. It calls for closer cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), quicker exchange of information and fewer obstacles to taking early action when EU funds are at risk.

Erixon said:

“Taxpayers’ money must be better protected. Gaps between anti-fraud bodies should be closed and faster information-sharing and joint case intake should be enabled.”

A central ECR priority is to ensure that suspected fraud does not become trapped between institutions with different responsibilities.

Erixon said:

“Restrictions on OLAF should be removed, enabling earlier action to protect funds. Recovery of defrauded money should be the priority.

For Erixon, detecting fraud is not enough if money lost through fraud is never recovered. The report calls for better monitoring of how much money is identified as lost, how much is actually recovered and how long recovery takes.

“Results must be better measured, with a fraud-gap estimate, common indicators and annual accountability,” Erixon said.

The report further supports stronger protection for people who report suspected fraud and clearer accountability for the performance of the EU’s anti-fraud bodies.

The report was adopted by 25 votes in favour, with no votes against and four abstentions.