€120 million in misused farm subsidies
The European Commission said last week it was seeking reimbursement of nearly €120 million ($143 million) in EU agricultural aid from nine member states that applied inadequate controls on subsidies or failed to respect EU spending rules.
France is among the principal targets of the initiative and is being asked to return a total of about €48 million. Italy is being called on to make a reimbursement of €19.06 million and Britain Eur16.8 million. Other European Union members affected are Belgium, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. "European taxpayers must be sure that their money is spent correctly," said EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler. "The Commission's duty is to recover funds which are misspent. And this is what we have done today."
