HL Deb 29 July 2002 vol 638 cc133-4WA
Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the cost to the European Union to date of using a satellite system to reduce fraud and malfeasance in relation to subsidies for olive oil; and how effective the system has been. [HL5572]

Lord Whitty

Work on developing a geographical information system (GIS) for olive trees is subject to dual funding by producer member states and the EU.

The maximum amount of approved EU funding is 97,817,268 euros (£61,928,112 at current exchange rates1). Of this total EU funding, producer member states spent about 35 million euros (about £22 million at current exchange rates1 up to May of last year.

The GIS is not yet fully implemented in any of the producer member states. It will be used to check against information in crop declarations. Where information does not correspond further verifications and on the spot checks will be carried out.

11 euro=£0.63310