Euro budget hit by losses through fraud

The European Community's pounds 47bn annual spending is becoming increasingly vulnerable to losses through fraud, an all-party group of MPs said yesterday.

The Public Accounts Committee argues in a report that existing measures to combat fraud, particularly through the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), are inadequate. Estimated losses as a result of irregularities from CAP payments increased from pounds 77m in 1992 to pounds 320m in 1994. VAT and customs duty is another major source of fraud with an estimated pounds 542m lost every year.