On Thursday 22 November, the EU Court of Auditors ruled that the proposed changes of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) will not be sufficient to make its investigations significantly more effective (see EUROPE 12025).
The Commission's proposal aims to increase the effectiveness of OLAF's operations and to adapt them in light of the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. According to the auditors, the major challenge for OLAF's investigations is to improve response times and the recovery of funds.
In particular, the proposal provides for strengthening OLAF's mandate in the field of VAT fraud and improving the admissibility of evidence and access to bank account information.
The auditors recommend that OLAF's investigations be reviewed by the EU Court of Justice to ensure that procedural safeguards are adhered to.
The proposal does not solve the issues surrounding the effectiveness of OLAF's administrative investigations, the Court points out. The Commission recognises this, but a schedule for further reform of OLAF is currently lacking. For Mrs Eva Lindström, responsible for the Opinion, the proposal “does not guarantee that the protection of the EU's financial interests will be effectively strengthened”.
Public Prosecutor's Office. As regards OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (see EUROPE 12140), the proposal sets out the principles that will govern their future relations. However, several weaknesses have been found: the proposal does not address OLAF's role in investigating criminal offences affecting the EU's financial interests when these concern both Member States that participate in the EPPO and those that do not.
The Commission is invited to reconsider OLAF's role and responsibilities in combating fraud. In the medium term, the Commission should evaluate the cooperation between OLAF and the EPPO and, where appropriate, propose further legislative actions to enhance the EU's fight against offences affecting its financial interests. The European Public Prosecutor's Office will become operational in 2020 or, at the latest, at the beginning of 2021. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)