EU claws back EUR 400m in farm spending
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission said Tuesday it is asking member states to pay back some 400 million euros in farm funds for non-compliance with EU rules.
The Commission said it expected a net repayment of 393 million euros, led by Britain with some 138 million euros, after checks on the way Common Agricultural Policy funds were spent.
In a regular accounting exercise covering several years, the Commission said 22 member states were involved, with most of the violations technical or bureaucratic.
The CAP accounts for about 40 percent of all EU budget spending of just under one trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in the 2007-13 period but this figure has been falling steadily.
After Britain on 138 million euros, Italy owed 76.1 million euros, Spain 63.5 million euros, France 41.4 million euros and Poland 35.1 million euros.
EUR 414m CAP expenditure claw-back