Brussels, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced important changes to how it is organised and to its working methods on Wednesday 1 February. The aim is to focus resources on prioritised activities and increase the efficiency and quality of investigations. These changes are the result of an internal review launched in March 2011 by OLAF Director-General Giovanni Kessler who took office on 14 February 2011.
“With the changes, we will shorten the average length of our investigations. The way we chose to open an investigation or not will become more transparent as we make public our investigative priorities. We will put more focus on the most important cases, not least those where the chances of recovering misused EU money are the highest”, said Kessler.
While there is no change in the total number of OLAF staff under the new system, a shift in resources from non-operational tasks to investigations together with a clearer allocation of responsibilities has increased the number of staff dedicated to investigations by around 30%.
The new investigative procedures are simpler, but maintain high investigative standards and full respect for procedural guarantees. A new unit has been created that will assess all information received by OLAF containing allegations of fraud, and will select new cases according to coherent criteria and within a short timeframe. The protection of fundamental rights and procedural guarantees will therefore be reinforced, and protection of the identity of sources will be given highest priority.
The anti-fraud policy activities of OLAF will be focused in one directorate. The aim is: - to improve the support OLAF offers Commission services in the development and implementation of fraud prevention and detection policies; - to enhance the support given to member states, particularly in tackling smuggling, and; - to focus policy development on a number of priority initiatives, such as the European Public Prosecutor's Office. (LC/transl.rt)