Strasbourg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Parliament and EPPO sign an agreement allowing corruption investigations, enhancing anti-fraud efforts and transparency.
As reported by Politico, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola inked a working arrangement with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) authorising investigations within the institution.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is an autonomous public prosecution office of the European Union. It is mandated for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment offences against the financial interests of the EU. These include several sorts of fraud, VAT fraud with impairments above 10 million euros, money laundering, corruption, etc.
How will the EPPO investigate corruption within the parliament?
The agreement between the parliament and the prosecutor’s office is the first agreement of its kind between the two institutions. Most especially, it will make it more manageable for EPPO to access the EU Parliament and probe corruption cases within the institution. “It will make our fight against crime and fraud faster and better. Ultimately this agreement is about protecting EU taxpayers’ money,” stated.
How does the agreement improve access to parliamentary records?
The arrangement makes it easier for EPPO to access the Parliament’s premises, to request to renounce the immunity of lawmakers and team and to access documents linked to investigations. The agreement comes weeks after EPPO informed it is conducting an investigation into one of the Parliament’s political parties, the European People’s Party (EPP). For investigations linked to members of the European Parliament, EPPO will have to reach Metsola. For investigations into Parliament staff, it will reach the secretary-general.
According to the contract, the EPPO will need to report to the Parliament any searches at least 48 hours in advance. In addition, the EPPO will need to inform the Parliament regarding ongoing investigations, and in turn, the Parliament must notify the EPPO of financial criminal conduct among its staff.
What does the new EPPO-Parliament agreement aim to achieve?
In his remarks, Victor Negrescu, the Parliament vice-president for the fight against corruption and transparency policies, claimed that the agreement, which reflects a similar deal between EPPO and the European Commission in 2021, aims to “improve our anticorruption mechanisms” and to “provide legal certainty to EPPO investigations.” “It is a huge step forward for our institution and a clear message of support for EPPO by the European Parliament,” he stated.
