15/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - French Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie is seriously considering the idea of creating a European public prosecutor's office. She expressed this idea on Thursday 11 February, at the opening of a seminar organised by the Court of Cassation on the subject "A public ministry to defend the interests of European society". The Keeper of the Seals stated that the idea of a European public prosecutor's office, which has taken "more than half a century to come to light", is now "concretely conceivable", thanks to the Treaty of Lisbon, which "shows us the way". Under the Treaty of Lisbon, the potential future European public prosecutor's office would have the responsibility of "seeking, bringing to justice and returning a verdict on those responsible for and complicit in crimes damaging the financial interests of the Union". It is worth noting that the Union is hit by fraud to the tune of more than a billion euros every year. (V.L.B./transl.fl)