Debate: Extension of the mandate of the EPPO with regard to the criminal offence of  violation of Union restrictive measures
Date: WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE 2023
Speaker: Jessika Roswall
Language: EN

The Council rapidly agreed in November 2022 to add the violation of the Union restrictive measures to the list of EU crimes laid down in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Function of the European Union. This rapid agreement reflects the Council’s commitment to counter the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.  Last week, the Justice and Home Affairs Council reached a position on two key legislative proposals which will greatly enhance the effectiveness of actions at both EU and national level on this matter. The first one concerns the criminalisation of violation of sanctions. The second one concerns extended powers of confiscation, including violation of EU sanctions.  We look forward to the interinstitutional negotiations with Parliament to finalise these instruments as soon as possible. Your support for these files is of utmost importance to ensuring a robust prosecution of violations of EU sanctions. The Council welcomes the activities developed by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office during the first two years of operation, which reflects the investigation and prosecution capacities of EPPO.  The Council attaches great importance to the fact that EPPO will be able to further develop its activities and perform its important tasks in the most efficient way. Having a strong and well-functioning office is important to protect the financial interests of the EU, which currently constitutes the scope of EPPO’s activities.  The idea of idea of extending EPPO’s competence to violation of restrictive measures has been mentioned during several ministerial debates on the response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine last week. The proposal to extend EPPO’s competence was raised by several Member States during the discussion on investigation and prosecution of EU restrictive measures in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Several Member States have also sent a joint paper to the Commission raising the issue mentioned just now.  At this stage, it is too early to indicate whether there is a sufficient support for such a proposal amongst Member States. As you are already aware, a decision to extend EPPO’s competence would require a unanimous decision by the European Council.  In order to get a clearer view of the situation, the Presidency will put this issue on the agenda of a meeting at a technical level before the end of this month. After that meeting, we will consider possible next steps. Irrespective of any developments on this issue, it is pertinent to point out that the Council, in any case, is very committed to ensuring compliance with EU sanctions together with a robust criminal law approach.  At the same Council meeting last week, Ministers of Justice held a discussion and shared experience and best practices on measures taken on a national level to ensure efficient and investigations and prosecutions. Eurojust and Europol also participated in the debate. This was a very useful discussion and one I hope that will contribute to further strengthening of the efforts of investigation and prosecution of EU restrictive measures.  I am looking forward to the debate and thank you for your attention.