Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-15-Speech-4-022"
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"en.20060615.4.4-022"2
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"Mr President, in speaking in this debate I would like to turn your attention to what, in my opinion, are the most important issues.
The first of these is the ever-increasing level of activity in the Member States in terms of uncovering irregularities and abuses relating to European Union funding, although there are unfortunately countries among the old Member States which pass on information regarding abuses to the Commission several years late.
The second issue is the clear fall of over 50% as regards confirmed losses in agriculture expenditure, from about 170 million in 2003 to 82 million in 2004. This deserves special mention owing to the fact that European Union agricultural aid has several million beneficiaries. The possibility of irregularities and abuse is therefore potentially very high.
The third issue is the disturbing growth in losses relating to the Structural Funds, from EUR 482 million in 2003 to close to EUR 695 million in 2004, and mainly in the old Member States.
The fourth and final issue is the huge scale of losses suffered with regard to own resources in connection with the growing incidence of smuggling, mainly of tobacco products, trade in fake goods, and also VAT abuses. According to estimates by experts, the latter account for as much as about 10% of all revenue from VAT in individual countries. In turn, losses resulting from increased smuggling require additional funds for securing customs borders, particularly on the European Union’s eastern borders."@en1
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