The EU Council has appointed the very first European prosecutors of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The appointed individuals will supervise investigations and prosecutions and will be a part of the EPPO College along with the European Chief Prosecutor.
The Prosecutors are appointed for a period of six years and after that, their term cannot be renewed. The Council does have the power however to extend their mandate for an additional three years. Following the creation of the EPPO, prosecutors from ⅓ of Member States including Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Netherlands, Austria and Portugal, will hold a three-year non-renewable mandate that was determined via drawing lots.
Each Prosecutor was nominated by their state and must be active members of the judiciary or public prosecution in their respective countries. They must also be considered as independent and have the necessary qualifications, practical experience, and knowledge in financial investigations, national legal systems, and international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
The EPPO will be an independent body of the EU that holds responsibility for investigating, prosecuting, and handing out judgements on crimes against the financial interests of the EU. This will include fraud, corruption, and cross border VAT fraud totalling more than EUR 10 million. The EPPO will be able to carry out acts of prosecution and exercise the functions of prosecutor in each member states courts.
The Chief prosecutor is Laura Codruta Kovesi who was appointed in 2019.
Member States that are represented in the EPPO are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia.
Operations are expected to start by the end of this year.
