9 Amendments of Ingeborg GRÄSSLE related to 2015/2128(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that 1 649 out of a total of 16 473 irregularities reported to the Commission in 2014 were fraudulent,; notes that all reported irregularities involvinge an amount of around EUR 3.24 billion, of which about EUR 2.27 billion related to expenditure, representing 1.8% of total payments;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the overall financial impact of fraudulent and non-fraudulent irregularities reported in 2014 is 36% greater than in 2013, while the number of such irregularities registered increased by 48%;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is concerned about the VAT gap and the estimated losses on VAT collection, which amounted to EUR 168 billion in 2013; underlines the fact that in many Member States VAT fraud and avoidance remains at a continuously high level13 out of 26 EU countries examined in 2014, the average estimated VAT loss exceeded 15,2%; reiterates that the Commission has the competence to control and supervise measures taken by the Member States1 ; calls on the Commission to make full use of its executive powers in order to both control and help the Member States in their fight against VAT fraud and tax avoidance; acknowledges the fact that since 2013 Commission has been using the Quick Reaction Mechanism in order to deal with massive and sudden VAT fraud; __________________ 1 Council Regulations (EU, Euratom) No 1553/89/EEC and (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014.
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the irregularities linked to the Common Fisheries Policy in 2014 returned to a level comparable to 2012 after a one-year peak in 2013; expresses concern regarding the high amount of non- fraudulent and fraudulent cases reported by Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom and Romania;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that in the area of cohesion policy the trend for the number of irregularities reported as fraudulent is stabilising, with 306 cases reported; is seriously concerned about the increase of over EUR 115 million, which is mainly due to a sharp increase (by 660 %) in reported fraudulent irregularities in the 2007-2013 cohesion fund programming period from EUR 21 million to EUR 161 million; takes note that out of 74 cases of established fraud in the cohesion policy between 2008 and 2014, 61 (82%) were reported by three Member States - Germany (42 cases), Poland (11 cases) and Slovenia (8 cases); expresses concern that 14 Member States have a 0% established fraud ratio for that period of time which may raise questions to the efficiency of their systems of control.
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Is furthermore worried that the overall time gap between the occurrence of an irregularity, its detection and finally its reporting to the Commission is increasing in the cohesion area up to 3 years and 4 months; recalls that after the detection of the irregularity further procedures kick in (recovery orders, OLAF investigations etc.); urges the Commission to work together with Member States to improve the detection and reporting efficiency;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Reiterates its strong views on theviews that there is an urgent need to adopt the PIF Directive, with VAT included in its scope and with a clear definition of PIF offences, minimum andrules for maximum applicable imprisonment penalties, and minimum rules on the statute of limitations as soon as possible; recalls the Taricco Case, in which the Court of Justice of the European Union draws attention to the fact that VAT is a TORfraud is indeed included in the 1995 PIF Convention's definition of PIF fraud;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Is of the opinion that the Supervisory Committee should, as a matter of consistency with its mandate, have autonomous staff who are detached from the OLAF administration and financial autonomy; calls on OLAF to grant the SC access to the documents necessary to fulfil its task; urges the Commission to put forward a proposal to change the OLAF regulation in this sense;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Urges the Commission to give full transparency on all demands of national prosecutors to lift immunity of OLAF staff including the OLAF Director- General.