Laura Kövesi, Chief Prosecutor, presented, on Thursday 23 March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) Annual Report 2022 to the European Parliament’s Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and Budgetary Control (CONT).
Ms Kövesi welcomed the work of the young institution as “proactive, efficient, courageous and consistent”. She illustrated this effectiveness with some figures.
In this first full year, over 3,300 crime reports were processed and 865 new investigations were opened. Also, EPPO’s investigations led to the freezing of €359.1 million (see EUROPE 13133/12). These are “encouraging” figures, which Ms Kövesi believes are linked to the European Parliament’s support during the budget negotiations.
An effective cross-border operation. Ms Kövesi also welcomed the success of Operation Admiral, involving Europol and law enforcement agencies from 14 Member States, which she said was indicative of the effective cross-border cooperation that EPPO enjoys. “In just 18 months, we have identified almost 9,000 legal entities involved in a massive VAT fraud scheme that has caused an estimated €2.2 billion of damage involving 34 countries”, she explained.
More work. Among the major challenges facing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in the coming year, Laura Kövesi identified a greater workload. Firstly, because these are recent investigations, requiring time, but also because of the implementation of the first projects funded for EU recovery and resilience. “The overall volume of EU financial interests requiring protection will increase”, Ms Kövesi said. However, she was confident: “The general level will continue to improve”.
Cooperating for internal security. Ms Kövesi also warned of the risk of the gradual emergence of criminal groups, which will adapt to the existence of EPPO. “They will continue to find ways to avoid detection or prosecution”, she said. It is, she said, an internal security issue for the European Union, which will depend on “our ability to cooperate”.
Revise the EPPO Regulation. As was already the case in 2022 (see EUROPE 12935/13), Ms Kövesi lastly reiterated the need to revise the European Public Prosecutor’s Office Regulation. She made it an objective of “utmost importance”, which will allow the institution to deploy its full potential in order to gain the full confidence of the citizens. In this respect, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office must become “truly independent, effective and strong”. Laura Kövesi expressed her gratitude to the European Parliament’s CONT and LIBE Committees for their assessment study announced last July, which she hopes will confirm the urgency of amending the 2017 text.
See the annual report for 2022: https://aeur.eu/f/5ly (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)