The Netherlands will probably have to pay back the CMO (common organisation of markets in agricultural products ) funds, amounting to 52 million Euro. This is a preliminary decision of the European Commission.
The final decision is still pending and can only be made as a European Commission decision. The Committee on the Agricultural Funds, of the European Commission, has carried out several audits to verify the extent to which the rules are followed.
With 52 million Euro the Netherlands got a good deal, the worst-case scenario was refunds could have amounted to 182 million Euro. Committee hearings had the sum initially reduced to 72 million Euro and subsequently to 52 million Euro.
The wrongly divided money hast to be refunded, by reclaiming it from the producers and production organizations. In foresight, the Netherlands has created appropriate reserves in the budget reserve.