The legislative proposal to amend some of the laws implementing Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 on closer cooperation in the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (“EPPO”) (OJ 2017, L 283) (the EOM Implementation Act).
The proposal provides for implementing measures to establish the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). Under the EOM Regulation, the EPPO has the power to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice a criminal offense affecting the financial interests of the Union. This could include fraud involving EU grants for various activities (study, education, research and innovation, economic activities), but also fraud involving import duties, export refunds, turnover tax and contracts tendered by EU institutions. The Netherlands has been participating in the EPPO since 1 August 2018. The bill contains measures to make the EPPO operational.
Limited adjustments in various laws are necessary to ensure that the EPPO can become operational in the Netherlands. This bill provides, among other things, that prosecutors will be able to act as European Delegated Prosecutors at the public prosecutor's office, and that special investigative services will be able to carry out investigative acts for the EPPO.
Main features of the bill
The powers and working methods of the EPPO stem directly from the regulation, which has direct effect.
The EPPO consists of two levels. One is a central level located in Luxembourg. The other is a decentralized level formed by the European Delegated Prosecutors in the Member States.
The European Delegated Prosecutor derives his specific powers of investigation and prosecution from national law. The investigative powers referred to in Article 30 of the EOM Regulation are vested in a Dutch public prosecutor. In the Netherlands, performing investigative acts under the Special Investigative Services Act is the task of special investigative services. The investigation of criminal offenses based on Article 22 of the EOM Regulation is added to the task of the special investigative services. In addition, the provision on relative competence in the Code of Criminal Procedure is amended. The four courts with jurisdiction over the functional public prosecutor's office are explicitly and, with the exception of all other courts, designated for matters that may be brought by the European Delegated Prosecutor. The European Delegated Prosecutor is not part of the Public Prosecutor's Office, but will in practice be positioned at the functional prosecutor's office. This is regulated in the Judicial Organization Act. The public prosecutor's chief officer must provide adequate official support and has an obligation to ensure that the European Prosecutor is able to perform the EPPO duties.