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 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.

The mission of the European Anti-Fraud Office is threefold:

• it protects the financial interests of the European Union by combating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities;
• it protects the reputation of the European Institutions by investigating serious misconduct by their Members and staff that could result in disciplinary or criminal proceedings;
• it supports the European Commission in the development and implementation of fraud prevention and detection policies.

By performing its mission as effectively as possible OLAF contributes to the efforts made by the EU Institutions to guarantee that the best use is made of taxpayers’ money.