§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the prospects of eliminating fraud in European Community matters, in particular that associated with the common agricultural policy.
§ Mr. CurryThe United Kingdom remains at the forefront of the fight against fraud in the European Community. In particular, the United Kingdom continues to press the European Commission for further action to implement, and update, measures included in the 45-point anti-fraud programme adopted in 1989 with our strong support. Substantial progress has already been made; measures in connection with the common agricultural policy include
mandatory minimum levels of physical checks on export refundsstrengthened requirements for annual stocktaking of intervention stocksimproved procedures for reporting irregularitiesimproved procedures for auditing paymentsthe inclusion of improved control arrangements in regulations implementing common agricultural policy schemes