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:

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

Italian Abstract

Nell’ambito del Programma Hercule III 2014-2020 è stato realizzato il Progetto formativo Anti-Fraud Training “Operational approaches of fighting frauds in the European agricultural and food sectors” promosso dall’OLAF (l’Ufficio europeo per la lotta antifrode), dal Comando Generale dei Carabinieri e dall’Istituto Superiore di Tecniche Investigative dell’Arma dei Carabinieri (ISTI), in collaborazione con Studiare Sviluppo. Studiare Sviluppo ha supportato l’Arma dei Carabinieri nelle attività di gestione finanziaria, contabile ed organizzativa del Progetto per la realizzazione del corso di formazione tenutosi a Velletri, dal 20 al 24 giugno 2016 presso l’ISTI, che ha coinvolto 53 partecipanti tra Rappresentanti di forze di Polizia, Funzionari di diverse Amministrazioni e di varie Agenzie Governative impegnate nella lotta alle frodi agroalimentari: 34 provenienti da 23 Paesi dell’UE, 15 militari dell’Arma e 4 del Corpo Forestale dello Stato. Obiettivo del corso di formazione rafforzare la capacità degli Ufficiali di polizia dei differenti Paesi, nel riconoscere e combattere le frodi nei settori agricolo e alimentare, con particolare attenzione al tema della gestione dei fondi comunitari relativi al comparto agroalimentare. Un settore che oggi in Italia rappresenta il 13,4% del Pil nazionale, con un valore di 208 miliardi di euro. Il Progetto testimonia la forte cooperazione tra Arma dei Carabinieri e l’OLAF nel contrasto delle frodi nel settore agroalimentare. Il Direttore Generale Mr Kessler della Commissione Europea, Ufficio Europeo Anti-Frode – OLAF e il Gen. Tullio Del Sette Comandante generale dell’Arma dei Carabinieri sono stati entrambi presenti nel giorno di apertura del corso confermando la sensibilità al tema da parte dell’Unione e la necessità di una vigile e costante attenzione agli aspetti più concreti ed alle evoluzioni di questo fenomeno in costante crescita.

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

Italian Abstract

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