The establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 – implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (the EPPO)

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It establishes an independent prosecution office of the European Union (EU) with the power to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment crimes against the EU’s financial interests.
It establishes a system of shared powers between the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and national authorities in tackling such crimes, with priority for the EPPO's powers.

KEY POINTS

Participating countries

The regulation establishing the EPPO under enhanced cooperation applies to the 22 participating EU Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Sweden can join at any time. Denmark enjoys a permanent opt-out from the EU measures concerning criminal justice.

Scope

The EPPO is an independent prosecution office of the EU with a decentralised structure. It has the power to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice (before national courts) crimes against the EU budget, such as fraud (over €10,000), corruption, money laundering, misappropriation or cross-border value added tax fraud above €10 million.
Existing EU bodies, such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), lack the powers to conduct criminal investigations and prosecutions. The EPPO has established close relationships with these bodies based on mutual cooperation within their respective mandates.

Organisation

The EPPO is built on two levels.

The central level, consisting of a central office at the seat of the EPPO in Luxembourg. The central level consists of the European Chief Prosecutor, their two deputies, the European Prosecutors (one per participating Member State) and the Administrative Director.
The decentralised level, consisting of European Delegated Prosecutors located in the participating Member States.

Independence

The staff of the EPPO acts in the interest of the EU as a whole and must neither ask for nor take instructions from any outside party.
The EPPO is structurally independent from any other EU institution or service.
The European Chief Prosecutor is selected following an open call for candidates and appointed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The term of office is limited to 7 years and is not renewable.
The European Chief Prosecutor can be dismissed only by a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, following an application by the Parliament, the Council or the European Commission.
The European Delegated prosecutors must be completely independent from national prosecution authorities.

Launch of operations

An implementing act, Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/856, set 1 June 2021 as the date on which the EPPO assumed the investigative and prosecutorial tasks conferred on it by Regulation (EU) 2017/1939.

Processing of operational personal data

A delegated act, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2153, amended Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, adding an annex which sets out the categories of operational personal data and the categories of data subjects whose operational personal data may be processed in the index of case files by the EPPO.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 20 November 2017.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

European Public Prosecutor’s Office (European Commission)
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, pp. 1–71).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.