Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added34. Notes that the appointment of European delegated prosecutors is a shared responsibility of the EPPO and Member States; stresses that the appointment procedure must always be in compliance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and the principle of national procedural autonomy;

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35. Is pleased by the increased number of EDPs recruited in several Member States; is aware that the participation of qualified candidates could be enhanced, and the appointment process could be more selective by adopting a clear career perspective and more favourable administrative discipline on social security and health insurance coverage; believes that the creation of a specific status for EDPs, as suggested by the nature of their judicial function, would make these posts more appealing; calls on the EPPO and the Commission to explore all possible solutions in order to enhance their dialogue towards achieving this result, taking into consideration the benefits that this would create in terms of competences and operational efficiency; reiterates its view that this situation provides additional support to the call for a revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and of the EPPO’s status;

36. Observes that the EPPO still employs external service providers working on site (39 members of staff in 2022); is aware that, once again, during of 2022, the EPPO had to resort to the use of interim staff for financial transactions, in violation of its own financial rules; understands that this decision, which was transparently disclosed, was imposed by the need to deploy the available statutory staff in investigative and prosecutorial roles; remarks, however, that the EPPO has stopped relying on interim staff to process financial transactions following its increased staffing capacity;

37. Observes the increased costs of training courses in 2022 and understands that this resulted in a more intensive use of the EU Learn platform, the cost of which almost doubled;

38. Stresses that two bodies of rules currently define flexible working arrangements and the teleworking regime, the Decision of the EPPO College on working time adopted in October 2021 is applicable only to prosecutors and the administrative director, and the Decision of the EPPO College adopted in December 2022 is applicable to the remaining staff; stresses that both Decisions are in force and applied simultaneously to the respective addressees;

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Changed31.39. Understands that the first decision is more restrictive and it tailors the working time and related options for management levels to the demands of the EPPO, to guarantee consistency and continuity of the decision-making processes, while the second aims to optimise private and work-life balance; observes that a similar distinction is adopted for the teleworking regime, where management is entitled to perform teleworking for a maximum of 60 days per calendar year, while other staff can opt to telework between 20% and 60% of the weekly working time; notes that both staff groups can telework from abroad up to a limit of 10 working days; encourages the EPPO to consult its staff by launching a survey to verify the level of satisfaction and to consult the Staff Committee on any further decisions to be taken on this matter;

40. Remarks that no case of burnout or harassment have been reported and that the number of long-term sick leave is very limited; welcomes the adoption of a structured procedure for reporting cases of harassment by the European Chief Prosecutor and by the European Prosecutors as well as its divulgation to all the staff;

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Changed33.41. UnderstandsWelcomes that staff well-being will represent a key dimension of the broader deployment of the HR Framework and the EPPO will devote increasing resources to staff well-being andwell-being; strongly encourages the EPPO to harmonise its current and future policies on inclusion, harassment and equality and to periodically launch surveys among its staff, whereby possiblepromoting, bywhere promotingpossible peer-review with other components of the anti-fraud architecture (Eurojust, OLAF, etc) and in general encouraging diversity to make the workplace more attractive to candidates with specific needs;

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Changed34.42. Observes that no trainees were recruited in 20222022, but preparatory work to establish the conditions for future HR management components included traineeship as one of them;traineeships; endorses the proposal and the execution of a traineeship pilot programme in early 2023, the results of which are currently being examined with a view to implementing a traineeship programme as from 2024; stresses that the challenges imposed by the cost of living in Luxembourg represent a significant obstacle for potential trainees; asserts that the traineeship should be remunerated in order to be aligned with the European Parliament’s resolution of 14 June 2023 on Quality Traineeships in the Union (2020/2005 INL) which advocates that all interns in Europe should be paid;

Ethical framework and transparency

43. Notes that the EPPO’s Code of Conduct outlines the expected standards of behaviour for employees at all levels and that, during 2022, the ethical decision-making processes were reinforced by implementing specific guidelines for addressing ethical dilemmas and making ethical decisions on outside activities and acceptance of gifts and hospitality;

44. Observes that regular training sessions (2 times per month) are organised for the EPPO’s staff on the EPPO’s ethical framework, Code of Good Administrative behaviour and the Anti-Fraud Strategy and that in 2022 a dedicated EPPO intranet section on the ethical framework was launched; remarks, in this regard, that the current participation of staff in awareness-raising courses appears limited (69 members of staff in total participated in training courses in 2022); asks the EPPO to explore viable options aiming to increase participation; regrets that a survey has not been launched yet in order to assess the awareness of staff regarding ethics and encourages the EPPO to intensify its dialogue with staff via surveys and fostering staff attendance at periodic general gatherings;

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Changed37.45. WelcomesNotes that no effective cases of conflict of interest were detected in 2022; welcomes the conflict of interest policy currently under development; notes that dedicated conflict of interest rules have been established for the members of the EPPO College, the EDPs, and the members of staff of the operational unit; observes that a code of professional standards for EPPO staff responsible for budget implementation and the charter of tasks and responsibilities of authorising officers by delegation provide the rules applicable in situations of possible conflictconflicts of interest; observes, however, that while the EPPO complies with the general provision under Article 16 of the Staff Regulations, it has not adopted a targeted policy on revolving doors; encourages the EPPO to adopt such policy;

46. Notes that, in 2022, the EPPO’s Internal Control Officer performed a review of the EPPO Anti-Fraud Strategy 2021-2022 action plan following which an updated version (Anti-fraud Strategy 2023-2025) was adopted on 1 March 2023 targeting the shortcomings and the emerging risks identified during the first year of implementation;

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Changed39.47. Stresses that a dedicated whistleblowing and anti-retaliation procedure is not yet formalised but it is being developed during 2023 and that, currently, the EPPO’s Financial Rules provide instructions on the measures to be followed by a member of staff or other servant, including national experts seconded to the EPPO; emphasises that the whistleblowing and anti-retaliation policy should be formalised as soon as possible to ensure a safe and protected workplace; urges such a mechanism to be planned and structured carefully to separate true whistleblowers from those making false accusations, asserts that protections should be built in for those falsely accused or defamed, encourages the development of standards similar to other Union institutions in this regard;

Digitalisation, Cybersecurity and data protection

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Changed40.48. Understands that the Commission, via its Directorate-General for Informatics (now renamed Digital Services) will not be able to provide the EPPO with digital workplace services after mid-2024, due to a change in the Commission’s IT systems and an IT policy limiting the provision of digital workplace services to only Commission’s services; notes that EPPO’s initial approach has been to prioritise resources on the setting and working of essential digital services linked to its operational activities, such as its Case Management System, while acknowledging that the EPPO’s digital services, which are at least in part diverging from the Commission’s, would have needed, in the mid-term, a tailored approach; observes that the intended interruption of service by the Commission could create an additional problem to the EPPO’s organisation in the crucial phase of consolidating its establishment; calls on the Commission to facilitate the EPPO’s transition towards a satisfactory level of digital autonomy in its core services;

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Added49. Strongly urges the Commission IT service not to be interrupted until the EPPO has a reliable IT system to avoid loss of data in particular on case files; emphasises that clear communication and operational coordination on this is necessary at the highest levels between the Commission and the EPPO; underscores that a smooth and continuous transition between systems is key to workflow continuity, reliability of data and functioning operational structures;

Added50. Notes that the EPPO is encountering obstacles related to the processing of non-digitalised documents collected by national authorities and private parties in the context of investigations; calls on Member States to digitalise their documents and procedures to allow the EPPO to be more cost-efficient;

51. Understands that the current challenge in digitalisation is enhancing automatised searches and tasks in order to increase the performance and usability of the EPPO’s Case Management System, which is essential to give to the EPPO a “helicopter view” of the criminal networks and identify links between cases; observes that reducing outsourcing and strengthening security are material to an efficient response to increased physical and cyber threats to the EPPO’s central and decentralised offices;

52. Notes the increased budget invested in IT projects in 2022 (EUR 11.3 million compared to EUR 6.1 million in 2021 in the period of financial autonomy); appreciates in particular the attention devoted to the setting up and implementation of the EPPO’s Case Management System (CMS) which is expected to provide the capability of interoperability with 22 Member States; understands that the efficiency of the existing tools in terms of interoperability is suboptimal and that only the adoption of minimum common data exchange agreements and judicial interoperability tools will allow an effective exchange of information and cooperation via the different platforms used by the various Member States; encourages the EPPO to further pursue coordination with Member States and cooperation with the relevant IBOAs to design a common exchange model compared to the current situation where hit-no-hit is based on bilateral models;

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Changed43.53. Underlines the increased threat to the EPPO’s IT structural integrity stemming from the aggressiveness of the organised crime, combatted by the EPPO, and resulting in the need to step up physical and digital security; endorses the EPPO’s intention to build on its own cybersecurity capacity to supplement and collaborate with the services of CERT-EU and DG DIGIT; supports the EPPO in its request for additional resources to be allocated to protecting its cybersecurity; encourages the EPPO staff to actively express the need for additional cybersecurity infrastructure or cybersecurity training both within the organisation itself and to Parliament and the Commission through the appropriate channels;

54. Appreciates the EPPO’s development of its own Case Management Ecosystem the components of which are all hosted in the EPPO data centre and managed by the EPPO’s staff, guaranteeing the EPPO control, retention and ownership of systems and data processed;

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Added55. Acknowledges the EPPO’s need for up-to-date equipment, cybersecurity and IT systems to deal with increasingly complicated crimes frequently involving digital elements; notes the EPPO’s presentation during the Budgetary Control Mission to Luxembourg in October 2023 on the steady increase of crimes involving digital elements, including cyber currency fraud;

Added56. Calls on the Commission’s Digital Services and the EPPO to establish easily identifiable email addresses for the EPPO that are not misleading, as currently the ‘ext.ec’ ending in the email addresses can be confusing for staff in other institutions and for outside communication as this is the ending usually only given to external consultants and undermines the legitimacy of the EPPO’s staff using the email address;

Added57. Encourages the services of the EPPO and the EDPs to continue their work in a coordinated manner and to ensure the effective supervision of processing of the data they gather, at the same time guaranteeing respect for individuals’ rights with regard to data protection;

Buildings and security

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Changed45.58. Welcomes the signature of the lease agreement with the Luxembourg authorities for the use of the building currently hosting the EPPO’s headquarters (TOB building) and formalising the provision of the current EPPO offices rent free until 31 December 2029; understands that such agreement may be extended tacitly on an annual basis, unless terminated by either party with twelve months’ notice; observes that the EPPO pays a service charge of EUR 716 724 per year and one-off costs for additional security and other additional facilities requested by the EPPO; points out that the refurbishment started in 2022 for two additional floors of the Tower buildingTOB to be used by the EPPO and to be adapted to the nature of EPPOthe EPPO’s work, which is not fully compatible with open spaces and hot desks;

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Changed46.59. Stresses that, in terms of physical security, the EPPO has implemented security measures, equipment and processes to address threats to its premises, assets and personnel; points out that a number of policies, procedures and guidelines also support the implementation of physical security measures; appreciates, in this regard, the carrying outout, in 20222022, of a physical security risk assessment to identify gaps and to address them; is aware that, in June 2023, the EPPO asked for 21 additional posts to enhance its security capability, reiterates that this need for security was further emphasised by the EPPO’s staff in the Budgetary Control Mission to Luxembourg in October 2023 and that such a request was satisfied in November 2023 with an amending budget covering 8 posts, and the remaining 13 posts will be incorporated into the budget for 2024; underscores the need for the EPPO to continue to have an adequate part of the budget allocated to security measures and security staff to better protect all staff, in particular considering the confidential nature of investigations of high-level, high-stakes fraud cases; urges that prosecutors and staff should be amply protected in order to be able to do their work to the full extent without the threat of physical or psychological violence and without outside influence or pressure;

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Environment and sustainability

60. Is aware that because the EPPO’s headquarters are in Luxembourg and the relevant services are provided by the national authorities, who are also in charge of investments related to sustainability and energetic performance, the EPPO has not engaged in any specific action for renewable energy such as the installation of solar panels, EMAS rules and CO2 offsetting;

61. Understands that the TOB building is located in the proximity of public transport and invites the EPPO to build on the current situation to adopt a strategy for the sustainable mobility of its staff;

Interinstitutional cooperation

62. Praises the efforts deployed by the EPPO to engage in intensive cooperation and coordination with partners and stakeholders and believes that the EPPO’s role as the major operational component of the Anti-Fraud Architecture implies a continuous effort of communication and coordination with the several partners, whose action has been designed to be reciprocally complementary;

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Removed50. Points out the importance of the operational coordination and cooperation between the EPPO and OLAF, having specific regard to the opening of complementary OLAF investigations and administrative investigations in support of the EPPO; calls on the two Offices to further progress itheir dialogue to strengthen their cooperation in consideration of the benefits that would stem from it in terms of efficiency and sound use of the available resources;

Added63. Takes note that EPPO indicated that of the 3,318 crime reports received in 2022, 103 were from Union institutions and bodies (55 from the European Anti-Fraud office, 16 from the Commission, 9 from Eurojust, 8 from the Court of Auditors, 3 from the European Central Bank, and 1 from Parliament), appreciates the effective interinstitutional cooperation between the EPPO and the relevant institutions in this regard;

Removed51. Underlines that the notifications from the EPPO to the Commission foreseen by Article 103(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 represent an innovative tool for the safeguard of the Union’s budget; observes that in this specific regard no feedback has been yet provided by either party, preventing the legislators from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues; welcomes the efforts of the EPPO and the Commission to improve the internal mechanism ensuring the transmission of such notifications and stresses that the working group recently established with the Commission should ensure that EPPO notifications, for the purpose of administrative recovery as provided in Article 103(2)(c), duly and effectively enable the Commission to maximise recovery to the Union budget, while complying with the confidentiality and proper conduct of the investigative actions; insists that the annual meetings on the implementation of the Commission-EPPO Working Arrangement should focus on the coordination of adopting protective and corrective measures to safeguard the Union budget; calls on the EPPO to advise the Delegated Prosecutors in the Member States in their efforts that support the Commission’s actions to safeguard the Union budget; once again asks both the EPPO and the Commission to report on this specific matter;

Added64. Points out the importance of the operational coordination and cooperation between the EPPO and OLAF, having specific regard to the opening of complementary OLAF investigations and administrative investigations in support of the EPPO; calls on the two Offices to further progress their dialogue to strengthen their cooperation in consideration of the benefits that would stem from it in terms of sound use of the available resources; further calls on the EPPO and OLAF to avoid overlaps and duplication of activities, and encourages sincere, mutual and synergistic collaboration in the exercise of their mandate, with a view to maximising the efficiency of their actions;

Removed52. Remarks that working arrangements and working agreements have been signed between EPPO and its main partners: Europol, Eurojust, OLAF, Commission, European Court of Auditors and the EIB Group in the spheres of prevention, detection, analysis and intervention; understands that the EPPO is building an in-house capacity to support its work with case-by-case analysis; encourages the EPPO and its partners to enhance their cooperation in order to build on the set of competences and experiences already tested, to avoid duplication and loss of focus on the core of the mandate of each component of the Anti-Fraud Architecture and to optimise the use of the available resources;

Added65. Underlines that the notifications from the EPPO to the Commission foreseen by Article 103(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 represent an innovative tool for the safeguard of the Union’s budget; observes that in this specific regard no feedback has been yet provided by either party, preventing the legislators from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues; welcomes the efforts of the EPPO and the Commission to improve the internal mechanism ensuring the transmission of such notifications and stresses that the working group recently established with the Commission should ensure that the EPPO notifications, for the purpose of administrative recovery as provided in Article 103(2)(c), duly and effectively enable the Commission to maximise recovery to the Union budget, while complying with the confidentiality and proper conduct of the investigative actions; insists that the annual meetings on the implementation of the Commission-EPPO Working Arrangement should focus on the coordination of adopting protective and corrective measures to safeguard the Union budget; calls on the EPPO to advise the Delegated Prosecutors in the Member States in their efforts that support the Commission’s actions to safeguard the Union budget; once again asks both the EPPO and the Commission to report on this specific matter;

Removed53. Understands that negotiations with Parliament to update the working arrangements are still ongoing; believes that this situation could provide an opportunity to explore new opportunities for communication and cooperation between the EPPO and the competent EP Committees;

Added66. Remarks that working arrangements and working agreements have been signed between the EPPO and its main partners: Europol, Eurojust, OLAF, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the EIB Group in the spheres of prevention, detection, analysis and intervention; understands that the EPPO is building an in-house capacity to support its work with case-by-case analysis; encourages the EPPO and its partners to enhance their cooperation in order to build on the set of competences and experiences already tested, to avoid duplication and loss of focus on the core of the mandate of each component of the Anti-Fraud Architecture and to optimise the use of the available resources;

Added67. Given the large number of active cases involving RRF funds, encourages the EPPO to notify the Commission of an increase in active RRF cases, encourages the EPPO to also notify the Commission, in particular the Recovery and Resilience Task Force, of possible oversight or control gaps or fraud patterns in active RRF cases so that the Commission can update instruments and mechanisms in performance monitoring and in communicating gaps with member states in order to avoid future fraud; reminds all actors that RRF funds are European and not national funds and are under the jurisdiction of the EPPO;

Added68. Understands that negotiations with Parliament to update the working arrangements are still ongoing; believes that this situation could provide an opportunity to explore new opportunities for communication and cooperation between the EPPO and the competent Parliamentary Committees;

Added69. Regrets the insufficient appreciation shown by the EPPO in handling the waiver-of-immunity requests made to Parliament for waivers of immunity in 2022;

Added70. Points out that it was set up recently, but nonetheless invites it, in the official relations it is called upon to develop with national and Union institutions, to gain an insight into the various procedures they implement and to comply with them, taking care not to undermine its status and tasks;

71. Notes that, in 2022, the EPPO had signed 20 Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with other Union institutions and bodies and that this allowed for the maximisation of budgetary savings from the contractual instruments in place, in line with the principles of sound financial management;

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Changed55.72. Emphasises the importance of engaging in productive dialogue with non-participating Member States;States with a view to reaching effective working arrangements with them; notes that, in 2022, the five non-participating Member States were involved in 86 EPPO investigations (compared to 48 investigations in 2021);

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Changed56.73. Observes that cooperation, based on the relevant Union acts on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, works smoothly with Denmark, Hungary and Sweden, even if at a different pace than with the participating countries; notes that, with Poland, the working arrangement has been finalised at technical level but it was not signed in 2022 because the amendments to the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (recognising the EPPO as a competent authority for the relevant Union instruments on judicial cooperation in criminal matters) only came into force on 27 December 2022; remarks that this also resulted in the EPPO reporting to the Commission, in accordance with the Conditionality Regulation, about the systematic lack of cooperation by Poland during 2021 and 2022 and its direct negative impact on the EPPO’s capacity to protect the Union budget by means of criminal investigations and prosecutions; strongly welcomes, therefore, the starting of the process of joining the EPPO following applications submitted by the new Polish Government in December 2023 and by Sweden, as announced in January 2024, and is convinced that Sweden and Poland joining the EPPO will strengthen the overall protection of the financial interests of the Union;

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Changed57.74. Regrets that, in 2022, the Irish authorities have refused to cooperate with the EPPO and to execute several requests for mutual legal assistance sent by the EDPs, invoking a lack of legal basis; endorses theremarks decisionalso ofthat thethis Europeanresulted Chiefin Prosecutorthe toEPPO reportreporting the situation to the Commission,Commission in accordance with the Conditionality Regulation; understands,welcomes, however, that inthe recent times (Novemberdecision 2023),of the Irish authorities haveto amendedamend their domestic legislation providing the legal framework for mutual legal assistance to the EPPO;

75. Reiterates that the lack of cooperation with the EPPO by any of the Member States, either participating or not in the enhanced cooperation, runs the risk of creating niches of immunity and privilege that make the defence of the financial interests of the Union uneven and inefficient at best; calls on the Commission and the Member States concerned to make any possible effort to integrate the current scenario with the few but still very important missing components, promoting the extension of the participation in the EPPO by the other still non-participating Member States in such a way that strengthens the effectiveness of the protection of the Union and national budgets;

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Added76. Welcomes the conclusion of several working arrangements with authorities from third countries notably the Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Georgia and North Macedonia;

Communication

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Changed59.77. Praises the Office’sEPPO’s efforts to enhance internal and external communication; is aware that internal communication has been improved to strengthen cooperation between units and facilitate the exchange of information and best practices; appreciates the intensive actions carried out via social network platforms and is monitoring trends in order to seize the opportunities offered by free open-source self-hosted social network platforms;

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Changed60.78. Believes that the EPPO’s efforts in communicating its activities and raising awareness among taxpayers about the magnitude of its actions is very important; welcomes in this regard the increase of the number of public communications and the efforts to increase the visibility of the “Report A Crime” functionality on the EPPO’s corporate website; calls on the EPPO to clearly communicate results and findings, striking an optimal balance between transparency and public interest, on the one hand, and confidentiality and proper conduct of the investigation on the other; calls on the EPPO to ensure neutral communication regarding its activities and to ensure that any issues previously observed are adequately addressed;

Effect of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

79. Understands that, in 2022, the increased inflation rate, a consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, impacted the EPPO’s general budget implementation, (resulting in a 6.9% indexation in staff remuneration and a general increase of prices in the acquisition of goods and services);

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Changed62.80. Underlines the importance of the EPPO’s actions intended to maintain intensive communication and exchanges with the Ukrainian authorities, as well as with the other Union partners involved in expenditure and fraud detection activities in Ukraine;Ukraine, in order to protect the financial interests of the Union;

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Changed63.81. Appreciates the effort made by the EPPO to clarify that offences affecting Union funds allocated to third countries fall under its jurisdiction, even if committed in whole or in part outside the combined territories of the 22 participating Member States, whenever the offence is committed by a national of a participating Member State or by an Union official, or where a constituent element the offence takes place in Belgium or in Luxembourg -considered as the seats of the Union Institutions,institutions, bodies, offices or agencies involved in the expenditure of the Union budget- and even if the other constituent elements of the offence have occurred in Ukraine or other third country;

82. Observes that the EPPO signed two working arrangements with the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to facilitate cooperation in investigations on the basis of the 1959 Convention of the Council of Europe on mutual assistance in criminal matters; notes that training courses are organised in its premises for Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators to share their expertise in financial and complex investigations and that regular meetings at strategic and operational level have taken place since the signature of the working arrangements;