The opening of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) was welcomed today by the European Commission.
It is a newly established EU body, fully independent, “which will strengthen the protection of the EU budget and closely monitor the implementation of NextGenerationEU to ensure that its € 750 billion funds reach the economy and to the citizens of the EU “, the Commission states in its communication and emphasizes that” from now on, citizens have the opportunity to report directly to the EPPO any suspected funds».
At a press conference given by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Luxembourg, Commission Vice-President Vera Jurova, Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and Justice Commissioner Didier Raders stressed that the opening of combating cross-border crime. “It is the first supranational prosecutor’s office to launch activities to protect the money of EU taxpayers, responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes such as money laundering, corruption and cross-border VAT fraud,” said Vera Giurova.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is based in Luxembourg and is surrounded by a panel of 22 prosecutors, one per participating Member State. Of the 27 EU countries, Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark do not participate. However, Sweden has expressed interest in joining the EPPO in 2022. “We encourage the four Member States that have chosen to stay out to participate as well. “Because crime knows no borders – we must fight it together,” said Vera Jurova.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office plans to handle around 3,000 cases a year. According to the European Commission, in 2018 the difference between the expected VAT revenues and the amount actually collected was 140 billion euros. According to the latest Annual Report on the protection of the Union’s financial interests, around € 460 million was lost due to fraudulent irregularities in 2019. However, the actual amount of damage to the Union budget is likely to be higher, as fraud is by definition a hidden crime.
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