site.btaEC Does not Confirm New Sanctions against Bulgaria in Agricultural Sector

EC Does not Confirm New Sanctions against Bulgaria in Agricultural Sector

Brussels, April 8 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - In an official position sent to BTA, the European Commission (EC) said it does not comment any audits on the use of EU funds before a decision is taken. The position comes in response to information, circulated by the Bulgarian media, about the imposition of new massive sanctions over unlawful spending under the Rural Development Programme.

The latest clearance of accounts decisions were taken in March 2016, November 2015 and June 2015, the EC says, recalling that it had claimed 2.2 million euro from Bulgaria last June.

The European Union has very clear rules about how Common Agriculture Policy money should be spent and how this spending should be managed. The Commission's role is to ensure that Member States manage the funds properly, reads the text.

The Commission carries out over 100 audits every year, verifying that Member State controls and responses to shortcomings are sufficient, and has the power to claim back funds in arrears if the audits show that Member State management and control is not good enough to guarantee that EU funds have been spent properly.

This is the so called clearance of accounts procedure on which the Commission takes decisions several times a year. "We always apply the general principle of protecting the rights of the auditee by not disclosing detailed information until the end of the procedure," the EC says.