The Commission brought forwards proposals on Wednesday 23 May 2018 to ensure that OLAF, the European anti-fraud office, becomes a “close and reliable partner” of the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The EPPO will investigate and prosecute criminal cases affecting the EU budget, such as corruption or fraud with EU funds, or cross-border VAT fraud. The new body, which is still in the pipeline (see EUROPE 12014), will come into being as a result of the enhanced cooperation among 22 member states.
OLAF was set up in 1999 and has the power to investigate EU budget fraud, corruption and serious misdemeanours committed within the European institutions.
The proposal revising Regulation 883/2013 that was brought forward on Wednesday seeks to clarify the areas of activity of each of the two bodies. “We need to maintain a strong OLAF that complements the EPPO's criminal law approach with solid administrative investigations”, said European Budget and Human Resources Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger.
In practical terms, the Commission’s proposal defines more clearly the tools at OLAF’s disposal for conducting administrative investigations with a view to ensuring their effectiveness. This concerns, in particular, checks and inspections, access to bank account information, as well as the tools to fight VAT fraud.
The revision also aims to organise the cooperation between the two, regulating the exchange of information with the EPPO so that complementarity of action and the non-duplication of investigative work are ensured.
At the end of February, the Council of the EU called on the Commission to conduct targeted reform of OLAF without extending its current powers and responsibilities (see EUROPE 11971). (Original version in French by Mathieu Solal, intern)