By Judith Ugwumadu | 27 May 2014
Nearly €14m of financial support is to be made available to countries in Europe to help them improve their ability to catch fraudsters and protect taxpayers’ money, the European Commission has announced.
The funding will be made available through the commission’s Hercule III anti-fraud scheme as part of its first annual work programme.
The commission said the budget for technical assistance actions this year amounts to €10.3m and will be used to help national tax authorities access specialised databases of customs and tax information. The funding will also help purchase investigation tools, x-rays scanners and computers for Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems.
A further €3.4m from the Hercule III programme will be spent on training activities, seminars and conferences for operational staff in member states.
EU commissioner for taxation, customs and anti-fraud Algirdas Šemeta said fighting fraud and corruption in the EU must be a partnership.
‘Hercule III means that member states will have significant financial support in catching fraudsters and protecting tax-payers’ money,’ he said. ‘Thanks to the Work Programme adopted [on Monday], many useful anti-fraud projects can now start to be put into practice.’
Under the Hercule III programme member states can apply for money to cover as much as 80% of improvements to the technical and operational capacity of customs and law enforcement agencies.
This was particularly important in the current economic climate, where many national budgets are under pressure, said the EC.
Hercule III came into force in March and will make a total of €104.9m available to support member states in fighting fraud, corruption and other illegal activities against the European Union budget.
