Brussels, 11/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 11 June, the European Commission adopted a proposal aiming further to strengthen procedural guarantees in OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) investigations. Once adopted, this legislation will mark the end of the OLAF reform process.
The Commission provides for the creation of a new Controller of Procedural Guarantees, who would have two main functions: (1) assessing complaints that might be lodged by anyone implicated in an OLAF investigation, and providing recommendations; (2) providing authorisation before OLAF can inspect the offices of members of the EU institutions or take any documents or data from these offices. The Controller of Procedural Guarantees will be recruited from outside the EU institutions and will be entirely independent in his/her work. He/She will be appointed by the Commission, European Parliament and Council for a five-year non-renewable period.
The proposal complements that on the European Public Prosecutor's Officer and the measures strengthening the EU's framework for the fight against fraud. (LC)