What can OLAF investigate?
OLAF's mandate covers all EU expenditure, for the current and the previous programming periods. The main spending categories are: cohesion policy, agricultural & maritime policy, direct expenditure and external aid. In addition, OLAF also covers the Recovery and Resilience Facility financed by NextGenerationEU.
Cohesion Policy Funds
The Cohesion Policy Funds provide funding for thousands of programmes and projects all over Europe. Their main objective is to improve competitiveness and growth potential at local, regional and national level.
For the current programming period (2021 -2027), the main cohesion policy funds are:
- The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to invest in the social and economic development of all EU regions and cities.
- The Cohesion Fund (CF), to invest in environment and transport in the less prosperous EU countries.
- The European Social Fund+ (ESF+), to support jobs and create a fair and socially inclusive society in EU countries.
- The Just Transition Fund (JTF) to support the regions most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality.
The funds are managed jointly by the EU and authorities in EU countries. Fraud investigations are usually initiated by national authorities.
More on cohesion policy funding
Common agricultural policy, common fisheries policy, and rural development programmes for countries preparing to join the EU
The common agricultural policy (CAP) of the European Union is a key policy framework aimed at supporting farmers and ensuring food security across the EU. The common agricultural policy is supported by two funds:
- the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF);
- the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
More on funding under the common agricultural policy
The EU common fisheries policy is supported by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).
More on funding under the EMFAF
The management of these funds is the responsibility of EU countries. Fraud investigations are usually initiated by national authorities.
The Instrument for Pre-Accession Aid III (IPA III) provides funding during the 2021-2027 programming period for countries seeking to join the EU. The rural development component (IPA-RD III) provides additional assistance in this sector.
More on funding under the IPA III
Recovery and Resilience Facility
NextGenerationEU helps repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and make the EU fit for the future. The instrument will help build a post-COVID-19 EU that is greener, more digital, more resilient and better fit for the current and forthcoming challenges.
The centrepiece of NextGenerationEU is the Recovery and Resilience Facility – an instrument for providing grants and loans to support reforms and investments in the EU Member States at a total value of EUR 723.8 billion.
More on the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Direct expenditure
Accounting for 14% of the EU budget, this is expenditure allocated and directly managed by EU institutions, bodies, agencies alone (not jointly with national authorities, as with the structural funds). Beneficiaries are generally located in EU countries.
It includes expenditure in, among others, the following areas :
- research and innovation (e.g. Horizon Europe programme)
- education, training and mobility of young people (e.g. ERASMUS+ programme)
- supporting the competitiveness of industry and in particular of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (e.g. Single Market programme)
- environment and climate action (LIFE programme)
- improving the capacity of the EU to face security threats (Internal Security Fund)
- European public administration.
As a rule, national authorities are not involved in investigating fraud affecting direct expenditure.
External aid
External aid – for beneficiaries outside the EU – accounts for 2% of the EU budget.
Fraud can relate to:
- funding for or via NGOs, national development agencies or international organisations
- funds to support national budgets of non-EU countries or big infrastructure projects in the neighbourhood countries
- and humanitarian aid
OLAF cooperates with national law enforcement authorities, international organisations and other international donors’ investigative teams in order to carry out its tasks.
What constitutes EU-expenditure fraud?
- Use or presentation of incorrect or incomplete statements or documents leading to wrongful payment of funds from the EU budget or budgets managed by, or on behalf of, the EU
- nondisclosure of required information with the same effect
- misuse of funds for purposes other than those for which they were originally granted.
What is OLAF's role ?
OLAF:
- carries out investigations (e.g. on-the-spot inspections and witness interviews) into EU-funded projects in the country concerned to check that expenditure has been used correctly
- cooperates with national authorities (information exchange, on-the-spot checks, cross-check on suppliers and related businesses, coordination of forensic audits etc.
As well as working with departments within the Commission, OLAF cooperates with managing authorities in EU countries.
The success of investigations outside the EU often depends on the existence of international agreements. Cooperation with national authorities and operational partners in international organisations is very important. They often have major control responsibilities in projects financed by the EU; OLAF may not have sufficiently effective investigative powers of its own.