The headquarters of the European Commission, in Brussels.

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Isa Harsin / Sipa

Responsible for investigating and prosecuting offenses affecting the European budget, the new European public prosecutor's office began its activities on Monday at the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg.

The Head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the Romanian Laura Codruta Kövesi and the 22 prosecutors representing the Member States participating in this enhanced cooperation, have undertaken to exercise their functions "in full independence in the interest of the Union as a whole".

"Change the game"

They also promised to "neither seek nor accept instructions from any person or entity outside the European public prosecutor's office" and to "respect the obligation of confidentiality".

The European public prosecutor's office, located in Luxembourg, "will change the game in the fight against cross-border financial crime", welcomed the European Commissioners Vera Jourova (Values ​​and transparency), Johannes Hahn (Budget) and Didier Reynders (Justice) in a press release common.

“It will complement the important work of Eurojust and the European Anti-Fraud Office, creating a unified European approach to tackle crimes that affect the financial interests of the Union,” they stressed.

Five countries outside the process

The European Public Prosecutor's Office is responsible for finding, prosecuting and bringing to justice the perpetrators of offenses affecting the financial interests of the Union (fraud, corruption, cross-border VAT fraud exceeding 10 million euros).

He may initiate investigations, carry out acts of prosecution and take public action before the competent courts of the Member States.

Every year billions of euros are lost in revenue due to fraud, including cross-border VAT fraud.

Of the 27 EU countries, five do not participate in this European public prosecutor's office: Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark.

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