Spark, in consortium with Tipik Legal, is undertaking an important supporting role in assessing whether the Member States have adapted their national law in accordance with the provisions of the EPPO Regulation, thus, allowing for its optimal functioning.
It is important for EU citizens to know that their money is being used properly and, therefore, it has been necessary to focus on how to protect the financial interests of the Union. EU agencies play an important role in protecting such interests; these agencies primarily include the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘EPPO’), European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and Eurojust.
Spark, in consortium with Tipik Legal, is undertaking an important supporting role in assessing whether the Member States have adapted their national law in accordance with the provisions of the EPPO Regulation, thus, allowing for its optimal functioning. This is in the form of carrying out a ‘Compliance assessment of measures adopted by the Member States to adapt their systems to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO’ (JUST/2022/PR/03/0001), together with a network of national legal experts.
The EPPO started operating on 1 June 2021. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU. Prior to the introduction of the EPPO, the national criminal justice authorities had the competence to investigate, prosecute, and bring to judgment such crimes; however, such crimes were not always sufficiently investigated and prosecuted, national law enforcement efforts were often fragmented, and the national criminal justice authorities’ powers stopped at the border. As a result, the EPPO was introduced as the EU’s independent prosecution office and a system was established of shared powers between the EPPO and national authorities to tackle crimes against the EU’s financial interests.
The objective of the Study is to assess whether the measures adopted by the Member States to adapt their national systems to the EPPO Regulation are indeed in conformity with the Regulation. The Study should assist the Commission in deciding whether or what action may be needed to ensure that the Member States comply with their obligations under the Regulation.
To do this, Spark and Tipik Legal will collaborate with a network of legal experts based in each of the 22 Member States, that are part of the EPPO Regulation, in order to check the conformity of their national legislation with the provisions of the Regulation that concern the investigating and prosecuting activities of the EPPO.
