§ 68. Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further steps have now been taken to prevent fraud in intervention stocks and export refunds following the latest Court of Auditors report.
§ Mr. MacGregorAs my hon. Friend knows, I have been taking the initiative in the Council of Ministers on many occasions to press for further action to deal with fraud in the common agricultural policy. I am glad to say that the Commission has undertaken to present to Council later this month a report on follow-up action to the recent Court of Auditors report. This will include a proposal to require member states to carry out an annual check on intervention stocks, to ensure that actual quantities present tally with storekeepers' accounts, and a revised proposal on monitoring export refunds, which would require member states to carry out a minimum level of controls. I will again be pressing Council to take speedy action on these proposals. The Commission has also this month introduced a simplification of the system for beef export refunds designed to reduce opportunities for fraud.