Debate: Urgent need to complete the procedures for nominations for the full functioning of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
Date: THURSDAY, 24 JUNE 2021
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

À la lumière du lancement imminent du programme Next Generation EU, le rôle du parquet européen sera de la plus haute importance pour protéger le budget de l’Union, au bénéfice de ses citoyens, de ses autorités publiques et de ses entreprises. Je profite de cette occasion pour remercier à nouveau votre Parlement pour le soutien sans relâche que vous avez toujours apporté à ce projet. However, this is not the end of our efforts. As any new body, the EPPO will need some time to be fully operational and the Commission is committed to providing it with all the necessary support.  In order to achieve its crucial missions, the EPPO needs in particular the European delegated prosecutors to be in place in all the participating Member States. The delegated prosecutors are the cornerstone of the EPPO. They will investigate and prosecute cases under the control of the central office. They will ensure that the EPPO is duly represented before national courts.  Unfortunately, some participating Member States have been late in nominating their delegated prosecutors, or some of them. The Commission regrets that the EPPO had to start its activities with no delegated prosecutors at all in two Member States – namely Finland and Slovenia.  We have repeatedly reminded Member States that the delegated prosecutors had to be appointed as a matter of the utmost urgency. In my numerous exchanges with the Ministers of Justice, I have repeatedly called on them to give this matter absolute priority. I’m pleased to report that most of the delegated prosecutors are now in place. I’m also happy that an agreement has just been concluded with Finland so that the Finnish delegated prosecutors can join soon as well.  The Commission will continue to do its best to urge the late Member States to transmit the names of the remaining candidates to the EPPO. Indeed, some Member States, in fact seven, transmitted the names of only some delegate prosecutors before the EPPO began its activities, but not of all of them.  The Commission is, however, concerned with the failure to nominate European delegated prosecutors in Slovenia, which raises concerns that the national procedure has not been properly followed. In December last year, the State Prosecutorial Council submitted the names of two candidates to the Slovenian Minister of Justice, but the government has not put the item on the agenda of its sessions despite a legal obligation to only take note and transmit the names to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.  On 27 May, the government declared the selection procedures unsuccessful and instructed the Minister of Justice to publish a new vacancy. The Commission is following the situation in Slovenia very closely. I have contacted the newly appointed Minister of Justice and already expressed my concerns. Actually, just today, I sent a letter to the new Minister expressing my concerns and requiring clarifications. One thing is clear: the procedures to nominate the European delegated prosecutors shall be fully transparent. For this reason, I requested further information on the decision of the Slovenian Government to annul the previous position, and I’m waiting for the reply of the Slovenian authorities.  In accordance with the EPPO Regulation, each participating Member State has an obligation to nominate the number of delegated prosecutors agreed with the Chief Prosecutor.  Let me reassure you that the Commission will take all the appropriate measures to ensure that all the delegated prosecutors will be in place as soon as possible.  We will also make sure that the EPPO will function well and that national legislations allow the full functioning of the EPPO. We are currently evaluating all their legislations and we will not hesitate to take all appropriate measures if we see that there are legal obstacles. We will have an evaluation of the implementing legislations and the functioning of the system after the summer, with the EPPO, to see if there are some needs to take new contact with the Member States to amend the different legislation. Now we are putting pressure to have the last implementing legislation in two Member States.  In addition, to have a fully functioning EPPO we need to give to the EPPO also the right instruments and, before the Parliament, I’m notably thinking of access to electronic evidence, the so called e-evidence, where the Commission’s proposals for a regulation and a directive are currently in trilogue, and on which we really need to find an agreement soon, not only for good functioning of the national justice system, but also for good functioning of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.  I thank you for your support for the EPPO. I hope that we will have the same support for the new instruments like the e—evidence needed for the EPPO.  I’m now looking forward to listening to you, knowing that you have given us support, since the beginning, with regard to this new body.