The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) will be an independent and decentralised prosecution office of the European Union, with the competence to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment crimes against the EU budget, such as fraud, corruption or serious cross-border VAT fraud.
The EPPO will operate as a single office across all participating Member States and will combine European and national law-enforcement efforts in a unified, seamless and efficient approach. The EPPO will be the key actor to fight crimes against the EU budget, which is EU taxpayers’ money. The EPPO will ensure that its activities respect the rights guaranteed by the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU, including the right to fair trial and the right to defence.
From 2021 the judiciary, prosecutorial service, legal practitioners and law enforcement officials Member State’s judiciary, prosecutorial services, will have to work with the EPPO in tackling large-scale, cross-border crimes against the EU budget. Understanding the competences of the EPPO and how those effect national criminal justice in based on Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 is therefore vital in efficient handling of criminal investigations and prosecutions related to the crimes against the EU’s financial interest.
The seminar provides a practice oriented introduction to the working structures and functions of the EPPO and explains how it will collect evidence, investigate and prosecute in cooperation with the national authorities in winding up crimes against the EU’s financial interest.
The objective of the seminar is to make legal practitioners ready to work with the EPPO by explaining what competences and procedures have the EPPO at its disposal and how national law complements those?
Participants will understand
- In what cases does the EPPO proceed?
- How the EPPO investigates and prosecutes?
- How does the EPPO work with national authorities on the field of criminal justice?
Participants will know how to work with the EPPO on a daily basis in combatting crimes against the EU’s financial interest, what procedural safeguards are at place and what judicial review is available in cases handled by the EPPO.
The seminar is especially opened for Legal practitioners working in the field of criminal law especially dealing with economic and financial crimes, fraud, organised crime, crimes against the financial interest of the EU, VAT fraud and related crimes but is also open to those who wish to know more about this very new body of the European Union.
The seminar is based on presentations complemented with practice oriented discussions led by experts who have and in –depth understanding of the EPPO. Departing from the very rich academic writing on the EPPO the seminar will focus on practical issues arising in the daily operation EPPO.
Attending the seminar participants will have a clear understanding of the EPPO and how to work with this new entity.
The programme
| 08.30 | Registration of participants |
| 09.00 | Welcome and mutual introduction Petra Jeney, Senior expert, European Centre for Judges and Lawyers, EIPA Luxembourg (LU) |
| 09.15 | The protection of the financial interests of EU – Scope of the term – Legal framework – Crossings of administrative and criminal provisions – Crimes against financial interests of EU – statistics/trends Expert to be determined |
| 10.30 | Discussion |
| 10.45 | Coffee break |
| 11.00 | Introduction to the EPPO – Structure, status, material, territorial, and personal competences – Exercise of the competence of the EPPO Peter-József Csonka, Head of unit, European Commission, DG JUST, Brussels (BE) (tbc) |
| 12.15 | Discussion |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 14.00 | Conducting an investigation – Terms and conditions with regard to reporting of an investigation Initiating investigations or evocation – Investigation measures under the EPPO Regulation Peter-József Csonka (tbc) |
| 15.15 | Discussion |
| 15.30 | Coffee break |
| 15.45 | Investigation measures – EU Cross-border investigation measures within the EPPO and conditions for investigative measures under the Member States’ national law – cooperation with EUROPOL and Eurojust – EPPO’s data protection regime Expert to be determined |
| 17.00 | Discussion |
| 17.30 | End of the Day 1 followed by a reception |
