Fifteen European Union countries will have to pay back €180 million due to an incorrect use of community funds, said a spokesman for the European commission, cited by Lusa news agency.
It seems the money will return to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure.
A spokesperson for the commissioner for agriculture, Roger Waite, said the decision was made after a periodical inspection which takes place each year in order to ensure that the European taxpayers’ money is being correctly spent.
The main refunds will come from the United Kingdom (€60 million), Poland (€40 million), Italy (€13 million) and Denmark (€11.4 million) in a list which does not include Portugal.
Besides these countries, Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia, Slovenia and Spain will also have to repay the community funding they benefitted from.
