Operational approaches of fighting frauds in the European agricultural and food sectors – Hercule III – 2014-2020

The Project Anti-Fraud Training “Operational approaches of fighting frauds in the European agricultural and food sectors” was promoted by OLAF,  Italian Carabinieri  and ISTI the Advanced Institute of Investigative Techniques in cooperation with Studiare Sviluppo, in the framework of HERCULE III Programme 2014-2020. The project consisted in a 5 days Training Course held at the Carabinieri Advanced Institute for Investigative Technique (ISTI), a training centre of excellence in Velletri (Rome) from 20 to 24 June 2016. The action included 23 modules implemented in 5 days training through seminars, thematic working groups, and exercises.

The training aimed to enhance awareness, cooperation, networking and exchange of good practices between national and international operators working in the field of “anti-fraud”. The target group was composed of Police Forces and other Officers belonging to National and Regional Administrations involved in fighting against EU frauds in agricultural and food sector. The training allowed the group to increase their capability to prevent frauds, in particular through:

• spreading knowledge about functioning of EU funds
• case studies analysis and exchanges of best practices
• strengthening the network of Police Forces and the cooperation between them and EU Agencies.

The overall objective of the project consisted in strengthening the technical competence of the officers in charge of the prevention and fight of frauds within the use of European funding in agriculture and food sector, as well as increasing their acquaintances on the operations of the EU programs and of the “tools” of international cooperation, in order to protect the financial interests of the Union. Furthermore, drawing on real cases and success stories, during the training events the MS police officers reached a deeper knowledge about:

• the new techniques available to prevent frauds
• principal investigation techniques and methodologies developed so far
• proposed solutions and best practices implemented in EU countries
• networks for cooperation between police forces and National and EU Agencies

AGENDA OLAF (PDF)

Due to the high incidence of agricultural frauds in the UE budget, the enhancement of the capability to prevent these frauds allows a better protection of the financial interests of the Union and to ensure the protection of taxpayers’ money.

The specific objectives of the project were the following:

1. providing an overview of the use and objectives of European funds and policies
2. providing an overview of the most significant frauds in the field of agriculture, and agro-food sectors
3. providing a “set” of most valuable typologies of police cooperation instruments to contrast European frauds (i.e. policy cycle)
4. analysis of practical cases and best practices to fight against frauds
5. developing new systems of networking and cooperating methodologies

Furthermore, with the aim of a long-term sustainability, this project contributes significantly in creating a multinational network of experts committed to:

• exchanging information and sharing experiences and best practices between member state police officers, concerning the fight and prevention of frauds in EU funds
• updating of investigative techniques
• promoting the creation of  a future “common data bases” concerning investigative techniques

Studiare Sviluppo supported the Italian Carabinieri Headquarters in designing and implementing the action with regard to the financial and logistics management.