Candidates for first-ever post of EU Chief Prosecutor for crimes against EU budget will be interviewed in a public hearing by the Civil Liberties and Budget Control committees on Tuesday, February 26, afternoon.
The European Chief Prosecutor will head the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which is expected to be operational at the end of 2020. On Tuesday, in a public hearing organised by the Civil Liberties Committee in which the Budget Control Committee will participate, MEPs will hear from the three shortlisted candidates (in alphabetical order): Jean-François Bohnert from France, Laura Codruţa Kövesi from Romania and Andres Ritter from Germany.
Further reading:
The Chief Prosecutor will be jointly appointed by common accord of the European Parliament and the Council.
The EPPO will be an independent office in charge of investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice crimes against the EU budget, such as fraud, corruption or cross-border VAT fraud above 10 million euros. The list of crimes could in future be extended to include, for example, terrorism.
So far, 22 member states have joined the EPPO. The five countries that currently do not participate – Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Ireland and Denmark – could join at any time.
Further reading:
Romania moves to block own candidate from EU prosecutor role
The EPPO central office will be based in Luxembourg, with the Chief Prosecutor and a College of Prosecutors from all participating countries. They will be heading the day-to-day criminal investigations carried out by delegated prosecutors in all participating member states.
Further reading
Interview with Ingeborg Grässle: A closer look at Brussels’ fraud fight
