On Wednesday 2 December, the European Commission once again called on the Member States to complete as soon as possible the final preparations necessary for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was originally scheduled to become operational at the end of November 2020. The subject was on the agenda of the meeting of the European Ministers of Justice by videoconference.
“Progress has been made since the last Council in October: some Member States have nominated their Deputy European Public Prosecutors, who will start work on 15 January to test the various processes within the European Public Prosecutor’s Office”, acknowledged the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, at a press conference, before adding: “but I urge all the other Member States to speed up their nomination process so that operational activities can begin on 1 March 2021. We cannot allow any further delays!”
Of the 140 Deputy European Public Prosecutors from the 22 countries participating in the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to be appointed, only 17 have so far been appointed: 11 from Germany, 4 from Slovakia and 2 from Estonia.
Moreover, the majority of Member States have not yet made the legal and administrative changes necessary to comply with the Regulation implementing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
At the meeting, the EU Justice Ministers also took note of a report by the German EU Council Presidency (see EUROPE 12604/14) on the interpretation of existing EU instruments on mutual recognition and judicial cooperation, which aims to enable the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to use them in its cooperation with authorities in Member States that do not participate in the enhanced cooperation establishing it. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)