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The European Commission on Wednesday asked member states to quickly appoint their delegated prosecutors to allow the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the EU’s new weapon against fraud, to begin operating on March 1, AFP Agerpres reported.
The EPPO, which will be empowered to investigate, prosecute and prosecute national courts for crimes against the financial interests of the Union, was created in Luxembourg at the end of September. The European Attorney General, Laura Codruţa Kovesi, and the 22 prosecutors representing the states participating in this enhanced cooperation were sworn in.
However, its entry into service depends on the designation by the participating countries of delegated prosecutors, who will be in charge of carrying out investigations in these states, but also on the adaptation of national legislation to integrate this new judicial authority.
“Several Member States have appointed their delegated prosecutors, who will start work on January 15 to test the various procedures in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office,” said European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders at the end of a videoconference meeting of European ministers.
“I call on all other Member States to speed up nominations so that we can start operating on March 1, 2021,” he added at a press conference.
“We cannot afford further delays”
“We cannot afford further delays,” added the Belgian European Commissioner, highlighting the importance of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the protection of the future multi-year EU budget and the massive recovery plan attributed to it.
Currently, only two countries have appointed their deputy prosecutors, Germany and Slovakia, and their appointment is underway in the Netherlands, Estonia and Luxembourg, reported European sources cited by AFP.
Of the 27 EU states, five will not participate in the EPPO. These are Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark.
This authority is competent for fraud with European funds, VAT fraud of more than ten million euros and corruption, and this crime represents between 30 and 60 billion euros a year, according to Laura Codruţa Kovesi.
Laura Codruţa Kovesi: More money allocated to pandemic EU states means higher risk of fraud
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office will defend not only the EU budget and citizens, but also the rule of law, declared on Friday the Attorney General of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Laura Codruţa Kovesi. He says the role of the Prosecutor’s Office is even more important in the context of the pandemic, when more European money goes to European states and there is more flexibility in its allocation.
Publisher: Liviu Cojan
