§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to United Kingdom public funds of fraud involving grants from the EC for which investigations have been completed and charges upheld; and what is his estimate of the cost to public funds for cases which are still under investigation.
§ Sir John CopeIt is not possible to give an estimate of the cost to the United Kingdom of EC budget fraud either in the case of investigations that have been completed or in the case of those that are continuing. The cost depends on a number of factors, including: how much was actually paid from Community funds; how much has been recovered or offset from other expenditure; where the fraud took place—that is, in the United Kingdom, other member state or third country; and whether it involved expenditure from the budget or, for example, evasion of duties depriving the Community of revenue.
372WWhat is, however, clear is that fraud against the financial interests of the Community, and therefore of taxpayers in member states, is at an unacceptable level. The United Kingdom is at the forefront of the campaign to reduce fraud and otherwise improve financial management in the Community.