The European Commission’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, is currently reviewing the system of compensation payments made to British farmers. The moves follow a report by the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office, which criticises the UK’s compensation system as excessive and fundamentally flawed. The EU is expected to pay up to 60 percent of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cost for compensating farmers.
The veterinary report was received by the British government two months ago, but has only come to light now. The report criticised payments to farmers that were significantly higher than the guideline rates. It questioned the procedure that allowed farmers to choose the value of their lost livestock from a ministry list. EU inspectors were highly critical of illegal animal movement and went as far to suggest that infected animal were deliberately moved to infect health livestock. They also questioned the authenticity of slaughterhouse records.
A spokesperson from DG Health and Consumer Protection hinted that compensation could be held back if the EU finds that they have paid too much, as the payments are made in instalments. The UK has already asked for 800 million euro.