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He added that there are no “clean” countries in the European Union, but only countries where more or less cases of fraud are being investigated, and that, in the context of the pandemic, it is possible that the number of crimes in the medical system has increased. .
Asked about how the pandemic affected access to justice, a fair trial and compliance with the contradictory principle, Kӧvesi said: “Because, for the first time, we will have more money for the Member States, more flexibility, less rigor in compliance with certain the rules that have been implemented so far mean a higher risk of having more financial fund fraud. “
“The issue of the rule of law, especially in this context of the pandemic, is a great challenge for me,” he said.
Appointed Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office a year ago, she explained: “When we talk about the rule of law, I think we have to consider two extremely important elements: the fact that in general we see attacks on the rule of law where there are suspicions of systemic corruption and fraud, where a whole system of connections has been developed between politicians, businessmen, public officials, people who have acted together to defraud public resources and who want to maintain control over them; the second is the independence of the justice system, which It is fundamental to the rule of law. It is not a privilege offered to judges and prosecutors, but fundamental to the rule of law. It is obvious that when politicians do not want an independent judiciary and, for example, they try to gain so much influence as possible in the appointment of judges and prosecutors in office or in their careers, the objective is to use the judiciary for other purposes and we can say that we are facing an attack on the rule of law. “
Through the activity it will carry out, the EPPO will defend not only the budget and citizens of the European Union, but also the rule of law, he added.
The EPPO is competent to conduct criminal investigations. As Kӧvesi explained, there will be a unified approach to investigating financial fraud, “a harmonization of investigation procedures and good practices for all EU police systems” and a clear strategy for the detection and investigation of fraud. with European funds, “a real and more effective approach to recovering damages and proceeds of crime”, a better understanding of how these acts are committed and better prevention.
“When we talk about financial fraud, including VAT, cross-border crimes, we must take into account the speed with which criminals change the way they operate in response to law enforcement, and the flexibility of the Prosecutor’s Office will eliminate most of the obstacles to international judicial cooperation “. , he also explained.
Kӧvesi cited a recent study showing that VAT damage over the course of a year within the EU is between € 30 billion and € 60 billion. “We do not have clean countries in Europe. We do not have the most corrupt and guilty. These types of crimes are committed in absolutely all Member States. After an analysis of the last 4 years, we have discovered that there are Member States in which hundreds are investigated . “cases per year and states in which 3 or 4 cases are investigated. This may mean that there was no priority in investigating those crimes. EPPO will have this advantage, which will have a unitary approach. “
Regarding the number of frauds recently reported, Kӧvesi said: “In the medical system, the number of cases during this period could certainly be the same as in the past or even increase. I am referring, in particular, to the field of public procurement. When they are done without auctions, without strict rules, it is clear that there is a greater risk, although I did not start the activity, I received several complaints for such crimes, but I sent them all to the OLAF (European Commission Office for the Fight against Fraud) which we believe you can do some preliminary checks. “
An annual budget of around 55 million euros was requested for the Prosecutor’s Office. “With this amount we will be able to have 140 prosecutors in the 22 states who will have to handle, at least initially, a minimum number of 3,000 cases.” The competence of the EPPO will include all the files prepared from 2017.
The EPPO cannot be operational before three years after its publication in the Official Journal. “This regulation was published in November 2017. The decision to start working is joint, between the European Commission, the Public Ministry and the Member States. Most of the States are ready.”
Made up of prosecutors from 22 EU member states who need to unify a procedure, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office “grants additional prosecutor positions to one member state.”
“Now we are in the middle of a negotiation. This figure of 15 prosecutors has been made public. Until now, I have not agreed with this, given the statistics of the last 4 years of DNA, but also how The crimes that the Prosecutor’s Office will investigate European Union, if there is evidence and people who are found guilty will be prosecuted, the cases will be tried in national courts, in Romanian. Have at least 41 courts and 16 courts of appeal to try these cases, or 15 people to investigate 600 cases and participating in all these courts is not enough, but we are in talks with the Minister of Justice to reach an agreement. “The number of European prosecutors, which will be paid by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, must ensure that the level of protection of funds Europeans will increase, not decrease. “
Finally he told the Romanians: “The rule of law in Romania has been under pressure for a long time and I cannot forget the people who supported justice and took to the streets, many, young people, and I encourage you to continue on this path. “Don’t give up, corruption can be defeated!”
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