Brussels, 17/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 March, the European Commission adopted a proposal to reform the EU's Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF. Since it was set up in 1999, OLAF has carried out around 4,500 investigations and has contributed greatly to protecting the EU budget against fraudulent activity. Improvements are nonetheless needed to assist OLAF in performing to its full potential.
An important aspect of this proposal lies in the strengthening of the procedural guarantees (i.e. respect of fundamental rights) for any person under investigation by OLAF. All persons must be made aware of their rights when they are under investigation. These include the right for the person to have a summary of the issue under investigation and to make their views known before conclusions are drawn up, the right to be assisted by a person of his/her choice and the right to use the EU official language of their choice. There will also be a process of review in place for when procedural rights may have been violated. The Supervisory Committee will continue to monitor OLAF's activities, ensuring that its investigations are carried out in full independence and in line with the rules and procedures laid down.
Efficiency. Certain member states do not provide sufficient judicial follow-up on OLAF investigations. The Commission seeks to redress this problem by intensifying cooperation between OLAF and member state authorities and providing for greater information exchange on cases and the related prosecutions. Each member state is asked to designate a contact point, which would facilitate the cooperation of national authorities with OLAF. In addition, member states should report, upon request, on the measures they have taken in response to OLAF's case reports.
To make OLAF more efficient in its own work, the Commission has proposed that if an investigation is not completed within 12 months, the Office should inform the Supervisory Committee of why it needs an extension of this deadline.
OLAF's director general will continue to be ultimately responsible for deciding which investigations OLAF carries out. However, the Commission proposes that an internal body should be established within OLAF, to help with these decisions. In order to ensure optimal use of OLAF's resources, the proposal clarifies the de minimis rule for deciding on investigations.
Cooperation. The Commission underlines the need to maintain full independence for OLAF in its investigations. At the same time, there needs to be close cooperation and information exchange between the Anti-Fraud Office and the EU institutions, in order to ensure the best possible protection of the EU's financial interests. A flexible procedure for the exchange of views between OLAF and the European Commission, Parliament and Council is laid down. The aim is to allow the institutions to discuss OLAF's strategic priorities, and give their opinions on the effectiveness of the work being carried out by the Office.
The Commission is proposing that OLAF should be mandated to conclude administrative arrangements with competent staff in third countries, in coordination with the European External Action Service and the relevant Commission staff. Cooperation with the European Police Office (Europol) and the EU's judicial cooperation unit (Eurojust) is equally important and should be reinforced. The Commission also proposes giving OLAF the mandate to conclude administrative arrangements with these two organisations. (L.C./transl.fl)