New calls Hercule III programme for fighting fraud in Europe

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has published three new calls in the Hercule III programme for fighting fraud in Europe. The European Commission makes € 9.5 million available for the calls to support Member States in fighting fraud, corruption and other illegal activities. The calls encourage applications for financial support for the following types of actions to protect the Union’s financial interests: Technical assistance, Training, Seminars and Conferences and Legal Training.

The first call 'Technical Assistance' will support actions undertaken by national and regional administrations to strengthen their technical capacity to fight EU fraud. The budget available for technical assistance grants in 2015 is € 8.1 million. Deadline of submissions is Tuesday, September 15, 2015. The awarded grant may cover up to 80% of the eligible costs of the action. The grant may even cover up to 90% of the eligible costs in justified cases.

The second call 'Legal Training' is targeted at universities and research institutes. They can submit applications for the organisation of conferences, seminars and studies on various topics in relation to the prevention of fraud to the detriment of the EU and to the best ways to combat fraud, corruption and other irregularities perpetrated against the Union’s financial interests. The available budget for legal training grants is € 500,000. The closing date to submit applications is Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at the latest. Funding is up to 80% of the costs of the action, and even up to 90% in exceptional and duly justified cases.

The third call 'Training' concerns the organisation of conferences and seminars for law enforcement staff, policy makers and academics to enable the exchange of information on best practice in the area of fraud prevention and the fight against EU fraud. National and regional administrations as well as research institutes and universities may apply. The budget available is € 900,000. Applications must be submitted before Tuesday, September 29, 2015. The EU funds up to 80% of the eligible costs of the action.

Hercule III is a financial programme specifically dedicated to fighting fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the EU. It provides for the collective procurement of specialised equipment and databases to be used by national law enforcement agencies and training for anti-fraud specialists.

The European Union budget finances a wide range of programmes and projects which improve the lives of citizens across the EU and beyond. Improper use of funds provided by the Union budget or the evasion of the taxes, duties and levies, which fund the Union budget directly harms European citizens and prejudices the entire European project. While it has an individual independent status for the investigative function, OLAF ( in French: Office de Lutte Anti-Fraude) is also part of the European Commission, under the responsibility of Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner in charge of Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud.