OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) logo
The OLAF report 2023
Skip to main content

Anti-fraud policies

Commission anti-fraud strategy

In 2023, OLAF coordinated the revision of the action plan that accompanies the Commission anti-fraud strategy. The new plan includes 44 actions under seven themes that cover the Commission’s priorities in fighting fraud. With digitalisation as one key theme, the plan envisages actions to increase the use of IT tools by the Commission and Member States for the prevention, detection and investigation of fraud. Other actions concern the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), customs fraud, as well as strengthening the EU anti-fraud architecture and the Commission’s anti-fraud and ethics culture.

Also, during the year OLAF continued its strategic analysis of irregularities and fraud, notably by updating its risk framework for the RRF. It also deepened its analysis of the detection and reporting of irregularities and fraud in different sectors and the differences in reporting among Member States. Furthermore, OLAF advanced on the development of the Irregularity Management System (IMS) to strengthen reporting of irregularities and fraud while enhancing the analysis of data obtained.

Anti-fraud advice

In 2023, OLAF continued raising fraud awareness, notably by providing more than 50 training sessions to Commission services, agencies and external partners, including Member States’ authorities. OLAF provided anti-fraud advice to Commission services and executive agencies, notably on their anti-fraud strategies. OLAF has also provided anti-fraud advice and training to EU decentralised agencies and Joint Undertakings on topics ranging from fraud risk management to ethics.

Moreover, to support fraud prevention activities by the competent national authorities in the candidate and potential candidate countries, OLAF issued specific anti-fraud advice relating to specific weaknesses identified through OLAF investigations of EU-funded projects.

Support for Member States’ anti-fraud actions

OLAF cooperates directly with EU Member State authorities to improve fraud prevention policy and practice through the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention (COCOLAF, please see also in the section Cooperation with Partners).

OLAF is the lead service for drafting the Commission’s annual report on the Protection of the EU’s financial interests , adopted under Article 325 TFEU (the ‘PIF Report’). This report is prepared in cooperation with the Member States in the framework of the COCOLAF and offers an overview of the measures adopted and the results achieved in the fight against fraud and irregularities in the EU.

The report, which is addressed to the European Parliament and the Council and is prepared in cooperation with the Member States, presents the measures taken by the EU and its Member States to strengthen the protection of the EU budget in the reporting year, as well as statistics from IMS on irregularities and fraud.

The PIF Report also addresses recommendations to Member States and supports the Member States and the Commission in identifying risks to the EU's funds and possible mitigating measures. The 2023 PIF Report’s recommendations to the Member States highlighted the importance of improving the follow-up of suspected fraud, ensuring that the digitalisation of the fight against fraud is high on Member States’ agenda, and that they develop anti-fraud networks at national level in order to fully profit of the expertise and experience of all bodies involved in the protection of the EU's financial interests. For the first time, a digital version of the report was published.

Throughout 2023, OLAF worked with other Commission services and the Member States on the preparation of four new delegated and implementing regulations on the reporting of irregularities concerning the European Agricultural Funds (EAGF and EAFRD) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). These regulations lay down the criteria for determining which irregularities the Member States have to communicate to the Commission and set the content and format of these communications in IMS. The Commission adopted these four regulations on 18 December 2023. They entered into force on the 1 March 2024.

The respect for the rule of law in the Member States is important for the protection of the EU's financial interests. Drawing on its mandate and expertise, OLAF contributes to the Commission’s rule of law toolbox, notably to the Commission Rule of Law Report and the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism.

Support through the Union Anti-Fraud Programme (UAFP)

The Commission adopted the 2023 Financing Decision for the UAFP with a budget of €24.9 million allocated to the three strands of the programme, (1) protecting the EU's financial interests through financial support, (2) organising mutual administrative assistance and cooperation in customs and agricultural matters and (3) operating the Irregularity Management System to facilitate the reporting irregularities (including suspected and established fraud).

With a strong focus on expenditure fraud and other emerging threats, the programme funded various activities to benefit the Member States' authorities, thereby enhancing their operational capacities to protect the EU's financial interests, such as specialised forensic and analyst training and access to commercial databases.

Comparative law studies, conferences and seminars focused on the protection of the EU's financial interests and a periodical publication is being developed by beneficiaries via the training grants awarded in 2023. On 24-25 April 2023, OLAF and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (MPI-CSL) organised a workshop with the financial support of the UAFP in Freiburg, Germany where 80 academics and legal practitioners discussed recent anti-fraud legal studies.

Awards for 2023 included:

  • Portable scanners, data mining and data analysis platforms, investigation and surveillance equipment and forensic tools will be purchased by Member States authorities with support from the programme awarded in 2023.
  • Three Information Technology tools were financed for use by the Member States, including customs data-analysis tools and tobacco products’ identification tools.
  • Thirteen joint customs operations were supported through the Anti-Fraud Information System (AFIS), targeting the protection of EU financial interests, combating counterfeit medicines, illegal pesticides, waste and wildlife trafficking.
  • The programme funded the procurement of subscriptions to three commercial databases, on behalf of law enforcement authorities in Member States, to support their operations and investigations.
  • Nine high-level events focused on the protection of the EU’s financial interests were organised by OLAF, including a conference on customs fraud and a workshop on EU expenditure fraud investigations.
  • More than 300 law enforcement officials from EU-27 Member States and third countries participated in the specialised digital forensics and analysts training (DFAT) organised by OLAF.

Implementation of the ‘PIF Directive’

In 2023 OLAF and DG JUST continued to monitor the implementation by the Member States of the Directive (EU) 2017/1371 on the fight against fraud to the EU's financial interests using criminal law ('PIF Directive'). Together they launched new infringement procedures against two Member States, sent a reasoned opinion to one Member State and assessed the replies received from several Member States in the context of infringement procedures launched against them, to determine whether the procedures should continue with the drafting of reasoned opinions or if they can be closed.