Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 9 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed2. Acknowledges the importance of the EPPO with regard to the protection of the financial interests of the Union and, in particular, the Union’s budget; recalls Parliament’s strong support for the establishment of the EPPO and expresses appreciation for the work that the EPPO does in investigating and prosecuting crimes such as fraud, corruption and serious cross-border VAT fraud; reiterates the central role of the EPPO in safeguarding the Union’s financial interests and underlines that it constitutes a cornerstone of the Union’s anti-fraud framework and of the broader system of governance based on integrity, accountability, transparency and sound financial management;

Change 10 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Removed3. Stresses the EPPO’s unique role with regard to Union law enforcement as a prosecution service and points out that because of its nature the EPPO is obliged to investigate all matters within its competence, when brought to its attention; highlights therefore the need to promptly dedicate the necessary resources to fulfil its duties and to ensure progress and the timely conclusion of investigations;

Added3. Stresses the unique role of the EPPO with regard to Union law enforcement as a prosecution service and points out that because of its nature the EPPO is obliged to investigate all matters within its competence, when brought to its attention; recalls that according to the EPPO Annual Report, by the end of 2024 the EPPO handled 6 547 crime reports (56 % more than in 2023) and 2 666 active investigations (around 38 % more than in 2023) with estimated damages of EUR 24,8 billion (EUR 19,27 billion in 2023 and EUR 14,1 billion in 2022) and that judges granted freezing orders worth EUR 2,42 billion (compared to EUR 1,5 billion in 2023); stresses that the constantly increasing figures confirm that the resources should be aligned to the operational needs to strengthen the independence of the EPPO; calls on the Commission to promptly allocate the necessary resources to enable the EPPO to fulfil its duties and to ensure progress and the timely conclusion of investigations, including the one into the acquisition of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Union, which was commenced in 2022 and remains ongoing under confidentiality rules without public disclosure of details to protect the integrity of the proceedings; recalls that transparency must be balanced with the presumption of innocence and respect for ongoing judicial proceedings; encourages the EPPO to maintain clear public communication where legally permissible; stresses that human and financial resources allocated to the EPPO for high-complexity cases of major budgetary and reputational impact must ensure the diligent progression of the investigation and provide responsible communication of their status and conclusion, in full respect of legal constraints;

Change 11 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed5. Points out that the initial 2024 budget (amounting to EUR 71 888 321) approved by the Union’s budgetary authority was 24 % less than that requested by the EPPO in its estimates of revenue and expenditure for 2024 even if higher by 9 % when compared with the previous year; observes that two amending budgets were adopted in 2024 and that upon the EPPO’s request in February 2024, the budget was increased in June 2024 by EUR 3 600 000,000 in June 2024, with financial and human resources to cover the increased costs related to the participation in the EPPO of Poland and Sweden;Sweden in the EPPO; underlines the fact that the increase had to cover the salaries of the additional EDPs to be appointed in Poland and Sweden and of the staff to be hired and the related operational expenditure, but that part of these additional funds were allocated to Central Office staff to prepare for the IT autonomy project imposed by the discontinuation of the Commission’s services in the IT area; notes that the second amending budget increased the level of appropriations by EUR 894 047 in November 2024, upon a proposal offrom the Union’s budgetary authority to address the high level of salary indexation in 2024 and that because the EPPO had already allocated part of its first amending budget to anticipate the higher-than-expected salary indexation, the second additionally granted resources were redeployed to security-related expenditure; considers that this recurrent reliance on amending budgets highlights the need for a more realistic ex-ante budgeting approach and for earlier and more structured engagement with the EPPO during the annual budgetary procedure;

Change 12 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed7. Acknowledges that the estimate of any budgetary needneeds related to the EPPO’s activities remainremains very difficult because of the peculiarity of EPPOthe EPPO’s activities, linked to the unpredictable level of fraud detection and to the wide variety of its cases; is aware that the EPPO has no discretion with regard to pursuing prosecutions and, in the meantime,and has no leverage onwith regard to resources and procedural constraints of national systems on which it depends for the investigative activities; observes that the lack of a fixed correlation between the number and the costs of investigations also preventsimpedes expenditure forecast, but recalls that the Union’s resources to be protected are increasing and the complexity of the regulatory framework governing their deployment makes it more difficult thefor investigations, not only for what concerns the recovery and resilience facility (RRF) and its unprecedented implementation mode but also for the high volume of resources allocated;expenditure; believes that this context suggests the need for additional allocation of resources to finance EPPOthe EPPO’s activities and reiterates the need for the EPPO to be provided with sufficient resources to adequately fulfil its mandate; considers that such unpredictability could justify the establishment of a dedicated budgetary contingency mechanism without prejudice to the need for a realistic ex-ante budget reflecting workload trends, to allow the EPPO to respond effectively to sudden increases in workload;

Change 13 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed8. Understands that 2024 was a difficult year for the EPPO, because it had to deal with an increase ofin its workload in the 22 participating Member States, to manage the enlargement to include Poland and Sweden and, simultaneously, to achieve IT autonomy from the Commission; notes that in 2024 the EPPO requested 45 establishment plan posts for IT autonomy, and later 37 posts in an amending budget, but both requests were denied; observes that in particular the lack of additional resources allocated to achieve IT autonomy resulted in the need to divert towards the IT sector members of staff initially meant to support the operations and resorting to intra muros contractors; considers that it remains essential to award financing to ensure the EPPO’s full IT autonomy and strong cybersecurity prevent operational disruptions; stresses that the continued reliance on external contractors and the diversion of operational staff to IT tasks, resulting from the lack of establishment-plan posts for IT autonomy, risks undermining the EPPO’s investigative capacity and long-term institutional resilience; calls on the budgetary authority to provide dedicated, sustainable staffing for EPPO digital autonomy in order to protect investigative effectiveness and cybersecurity;

Change 14 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed12. Observes that costs for operational missions slightly increased further in 2024, reaching EUR 1 292 000 (compared to EUR 1 175 000 in 2023 and EUR 980 000 in 2022) and absorbed approximately 3,7 % of the overall operational appropriations (EUR 34,1 million) but overall in line with the increasing level of intensity of investigations and stable in terms of value; understands that there has been a reduction in the overall travel expenditure, that the use of videoconferences facilities as a cost-effective and secure alternative to staff mission is being promoted by the EPPO and that participation in online meetings is the standard practice for internal coordination and exchanges with Member States authorities and Union partners, but missions remain relevant practicenecessary in operational context;and judicial contexts, for ensuring a consistent approach across the EPPO, for training or raising awareness to stakeholders;

Change 15 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Removed18. Stresses that the modus operandi of criminal organisations is increasingly transnational, structured on the recurrent involvement of complex corporate structures used as a front and opaque legal vehicles deployed across multiple jurisdictions having unequal levels of enforcement of Union law; highlights the fact that the strategy of organised crime aims to fraudulently divert Union funds and conceal the proceeds of crime through money-laundering operations which affect the legal economy and also emerge as large-scale cross-border VAT fraud; points out that these criminal schemes systematically exploit regulatory fragmentation and procedural asymmetries between Member States, as well as the limitations inherent in the national focus of law enforcement and judicial authority; emphasises, in this specific regard, the added value of EPPO’s actions, which allow to fill the gap left by not coordinated national initiatives and that represent the most effective instrument to disrupt trans-national criminal activities and intervene in protection of the Union’s financial interests and the internal market;

Added18. Reiterates that the budgetary and human resources allocated to the EPPO remain structurally insufficient in view of its rapidly increasing workload, in particular as regards RRF-related cases and the cross-border VAT fraud, which harms the internal market and fair competition; urges the Commission to engage in a dialogue with the EPPO to deliver the staffing assessment announced in Amending Letter 1/2022 on resources needs aligned with operational requirements; stresses that revising the outdated 2017 Legislative Financial Statement is necessary to reflect real workload indicators and cannot be made conditional on a change of mandate, given the expansion of the Union’s financial interests at stake; calls on the Commission to present, without delay, an updated staffing and funding assessment, prepared in close consultation with the EPPO and based on measurable workload indicators and cases; calls on the Commission to ensure that future budget proposals are based on updated workload indicators rather than outdated assumptions;

Removed19. Notes the conclusions and recommendations made by the Court in its Review 02/2025 ‘Performance-orientation, accountability and transparency – lessons to be learned from the weaknesses of the RRF’; calls for a dedicated increase in funding within the next MFF to ensure the EPPO can continue to meet its objectives and obligations in face of the increased complexity of the financing instruments;

Added19. Stresses that the modus operandi of criminal organisations is increasingly transnational, structured on the recurrent involvement of complex corporate structures used as a front and opaque legal vehicles deployed across multiple jurisdictions having unequal levels of enforcement of Union law; highlights the fact that the strategy of organised crime aims to fraudulently divert Union funds and conceal the proceeds of crime through money-laundering operations which affect the legal economy and also emerge as large-scale cross-border VAT fraud; points out that these criminal schemes systematically exploit regulatory fragmentation and procedural asymmetries between Member States, as well as the limitations inherent in the national focus of law enforcement and judicial authority; emphasises, in this specific regard, the added value of EPPO’s actions, which allow to fill the gap left by not coordinated national initiatives and that represent the most effective instrument to disrupt trans-national criminal activities and intervene in protection of the Union’s financial interests and the internal market; calls for concrete measures to strengthen the operational effectiveness of EPPO investigations, in particular by addressing structural obstacles that continue to hinder cross-border inquiries; stresses the need for a minimum level of procedural harmonisation among participating Member States in areas that directly affect the work of EDPs, including access to evidence, timelines for judicial authorisations, and rules governing investigative measures; urges Member States to grant the EPPO direct and secure access to key national database such as customs systems, tax registers, and beneficial ownership registries, while ensuring full compliance with data-protection requirement;

Removed20. Notes that in 2024 the costs related to the provisions of Article 91(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (exceptionally costly measures carried out by the national authorities and covered by the EPPO) remained marginal (0,1 % of the operational budget, compared to 0,4 % in 2023); understands that, in 2023, a first financing agreement was signed in the framework of a pilot for the reimbursement of claims made under Article 91(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, to cover the cost of the measures carried out at national level on behalf of the EPPO and that the Court has audited the item in 2023 and had deemed it legal and regular; believes that this provision offers EPPO the opportunity to intervene effectively in trans-national investigative scenarios where a Member state might hesitate to deploy its resources, in consideration of an unbalanced result of the cost-benefit analysis; calls on the Commission to explore how the resort to this option by Member states and EPPO could become more strategically effective;

Added20. Notes the conclusions and recommendations made by the Court in its Review 02/2025 ‘Performance-orientation, accountability and transparency – lessons to be learned from the weaknesses of the RRF’; calls for a dedicated increase in funding within the next MFF to ensure the EPPO can continue to meet its objectives and obligations in face of the increased complexity of the financing instruments, which may expose Union funds to a higher risk of fraud and mismanagement;

Change 16 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed21.22. Is aware that the College is responsible for the general oversight of the EPPO’s activities and for taking decisions on strategic matters and that in 2024 it met 20 times adopting 70 decisions; believes that College’s decisions ensure coherence, efficiency and consistency in the prosecution policy of the EPPO throughout the participating Member States; welcomes the College’s decisions adopted in 2024 on the working arrangements establishing the methods of cooperation with Parliament, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the revised annexes of the agreement with the Commission; observes that the College also amended rules on other Staff put at the disposal of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office but not employed by it (National European Delegated Prosecutors’ Assistants (NEDPAs)) and established a housing allowance for certain categories of staff housed in Luxembourg; notes that, as appointing authority, the College appointed EDPs in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, selected members of the Ethics Committee and members of the Disciplinary Board for EDPs as well as the Administrative Director ad interim; notes the College’s decisions in 2024 on budget-related matters, such as the adoption of the EPPO’s Single Programming Document 2024-2026, the final accounts for the financial year 2023, EPPO’s 2023 Consolidated Annual Activity Report, the Single Programming Document for the period 2025-2027, the budget 2025 and the corresponding financing decision for the year 2025 and amendments to the budget and the Single Programming Document; the College also adopted Security Rules applicable to the Digital Communication and Information Systems of the EPPO, and the Security Strategy 2024-2028.2024-2028;

Change 17 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed26.27. Notes that the EPPO continued its efforts to set in place a system to monitor efficiency gains and cost savings, and notes that in 2024 it launched a review of the strategic and operational planning and monitoring processes (to increase the ability to contribute to EPPO activities’ strategic focus and to achieve sustained high implementation or absorption rate of available resources) and established a mid-term human resources strategic planning, to allow for the increased fulfilment of the establishment plan and addressing staffing gaps through hiring or professional growth; observes that, in this regard, the EPPO also established careerstarted pathsworking andon more specific job description frameworks to align staff with strategy and contribute to maintaining high staff engagement;

Change 18 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed31.32. Notes that the EPPO’s anti-fraud strategy 2023-2025, updated in 2023 as per the requirements set by Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and the EPPO’s Financial Rules, is linked to an action plan that is part of the EPPO internal control environment, is monitored annually and has been reviewed in 2024; observes that in 2024, implementation focused on awareness-raising with 17 training sessions organised on the EPPO’s ethical framework, the anti-fraud strategy and the code of good administrative behaviour, ensuring broad staff participation; welcomes the adoption of the whistleblowing process, occurred in early 2025; remarks that, pending the adoption of a comprehensive conflicts of interest policy, obligations and declaration procedures remain in place for senior management and staff involved in financial circuits, procurement and recruitment; calls for the swift adoption of a comprehensive conflicts of interest policy in order to ensure public trust in the EPPO’s integrity framework;

Change 19 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed32.33. Notes that, in respect of its investigative and prosecutorial functions, the EPPO redesigned the internal processes in place to support its investigations,investigations amongby, othersinter byalia, developing tools to improve the efficiency of its processing of information and connectivity with multiple partners, developing dedicated software, improving the quality of translation services and reducing the human translation needs and associated cost,costs, exploring ways in which AI can be used to better manage the vast volumes of information it is processing, assessing them both from a technicaltechnical, legal and legal/ethicalethical perspective; appreciates, in this regard, the EPPO’s efforts in the setting up KPIs linked to its peculiarparticular business model; maintainswelcomes itsinitiatives remarkto improve reporting on results and underlines the needimportance of timely, accurate and transparent reporting to Parliament to demonstrate the impact of the EPPO’s actions with regard to the protection of the Union’s financial interests; maintains that there is still a need to report on the amounts seized, confiscated and eventually recovered to the Union’s budget, whose safeguard is ultimately the raison d'être of the Union’s anti-fraud architecture of which the EPPO is an important component;

Change 20 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed33.34. Understands that monitoring and follow-up actions, including reporting on the recovery results, are not in the EPPO’s remit and require resources and specific prerogatives that are not part of the EPPO’s mission;prerogatives; reiterates its requestcall toon the Commission to support the EPPO in identifying indicators linked to the achievement of that essential task, and to set out in the framework of the revision of the anti-fraud architecture the most appropriate features to ensure a continuous flow on data and information to allow proper analysis; stresses that an enhanced monitoring system and more data of good granularitydetailed anddata, aggregatedset inout clusteraccording perto typologytype of misconduct, sector of interest or geographical area, are necessary to identify patterns of fraud and would make more tangible the impact of the EPPO’s investigations;

Change 21 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed38.39. Emphasises the growing performance level of the EPPO as confirmed by the increasing number of indictments (205 in 2024 compared to 139 in 2023, 87 in 2022 and 5 in 2021) and of freezing orders obtained (in 2024 for EUR 2,42 billion compared to EUR 1,5 billion in 2023, EUR 359,1 million in 2022 and EUR 147 million in 2021); regrets that the absence of a clear and enforceable framework for the monitoring and reporting of confiscated and recovered amounts continues to prevent a full assessment of the budgetary impact of EPPO investigations; reiterates its call for legislative and budgetary solutions to ensure that amounts recovered following EPPO-led investigations are effectively traced, reported and returned to the Union budget; observes that 102 criminal cases were concluded in 2024 with a court conviction (48 cases in 2023 compared to 20 cases in 2022); regrets that the lack of clear regulatory framework has prevented EPPO from providing updated and reliable data on confiscation for the year 2024 (reminding that in 2023 EUR 60 million were confiscated compared to EUR 2 million in 2022);

Change 22 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed39.40. Expresses its concern about the number of investigations opened onregarding the implementation of the RRF; underlines that by the end of 2024, the EPPO was handling 311 active cases related to the NextGenerationEU, out of which 307 stemmed from the RRF (233 at the end of 2023), corresponding to approximately 17 % of all active expenditure fraud investigations and for thean estimated damageamount of EUR 2,8 billion in damages to the Union’s financial interests of EUR 2,8 billion, (corresponding to 30 % of the overall estimated damage for expenditure fraud, compared to 25 % in 2023); observes that the EPPO’s investigations into fraud affecting the RRF reveal significant disparities across Member States, reflecting variations in the allocation of funds, crime detection capabilities, and the diverse nature of fraud schemes perpetrated; regretsis worried by the lack of an obligation on Member States to report RRF cases to the Commission through the irregularity management system (IMS), preventing de facto the structured monitoring and structuredrisk analysis of the RRF cases; stresses the importance of cooperation among national authorities, the EPPO and the Commission to improve structured reporting; is worried that reporting of cases from Union institutions, including the Commission, accounts for not even 3 %, raising further concerns onregarding the Commission’s oversight ability towith oversightregard to the RRF; calls on the Commission to address these deficiencies as a matter of urgency and, in cooperation with the EPPO, to improve interoperability of reporting systems and clarify roles to ensure robust monitoring of RRF-related irregularities;

Change 23 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed41.42. Observes that around 6 % of the offences investigated by the EPPO by the end of 2024 concerned participation in a criminal organisation, which focused its criminal activity on the commission of criminal activity provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 (PIF-related crime); reiterates that only the enhanced cooperation amongst the components of the anti-fraud architecture can effectively counter such fraudulent conduct and safeguard the achievements of the RRF’s objectives and of the Union’s policies at large; believes that only the joint coordinated deployment of judicial and administrative measures can protect the financial interests of the Union and reiterates its call on the Commission to provide adequate support to the EPPO on how to foster the adoption of the remedial measures which follow the EPPO’s independent investigation and prosecution of crimes affecting the RRF; calls for a reinforced coordination framework involving the EPPO, the Commission and the Member States, aimed at strengthening RRF fraud investigation and prevention, ensuring systematic follow-up of EPPO investigations and improving the exchange of relevant information; urges the Commission to keep the Union’s budgetary authority informed regarding the outcome of its action;

Change 24 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed42.43. Notes that in 2024 the upward trend in the number of staff has been maintained reaching a total of 258 at the end of 2024 (from 58 in 2020, to 122 in 2021, 217 in 2022 and 238 by the end of 2023) with an increase a little higher than 9,5 %; praises the high occupation rate, around to 96 % (it was around 93 % end 2023) for all categories excluding seconded national experts, where it is at 83 %; observes that in 2024 the number of external service providers (32) and intra-muros (10) remained almost unchanged (compared to 34 and 9, respectively, in 2023).2023);

Change 25 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed44.45. Is aware that the EPPO requested 419 posts in its establishment plan by the end of 2024 and that 289 posts were instead granted; stresses that the posts requested were 513 in 2025 and that, again, only 307 were granted, increasing the gap between the resources needed and those allocated; agrees with the EPPO that without the requested increase of staff the EPPO’s ability to fulfil its mandate efficiently, in line with the Union citizens’ expectations, is considerably reduced, the backlog of cases will continue to increase, the administration of justice in cases of fraud affecting the Union’s financial interests will be delayed, and the fight against organised crime groups, stealing from public finances and damaging European economies, will be far less efficient; notes the EPPO’s remarks about the increasing tendency of working time-credit being accumulated by staff as a consequence of the limited resources and of the increased individual workload, which potentially generates individual resilience risks as well as potential increased turnover; underlines, therefore, the necessity for the EPPO to be equipped with adequate staffing and budgetary resources in line with the tasks entrusted to it;

Change 26 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed45.46. Appreciates the fact that the allocation of staff across the EPPO is oriented towards maximising performance and notes that by end 2024, out of 412 posts, 319 were dedicated to the operational activities, that is over 77 % (compared to 80 % in 2023), against 18 % dedicated to administrative tasks (compared to 14 % in 2023) in line with the EPPO’s approach to prioritise the operational activities; observes, however, that the percentage of staff divertedallocated towardsto bureaucratic-administrativeadministrative and support tasks has increased; understands that this mainly is a consequence of some recent change in the Commission policy, such as the discontinuation of the IT services, that has resulted in obliging the EPPO to handle the most crucial tasks with its own staff, which was therefore assigned to non-operational positions;

Change 27 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed46.47. Maintains that the EPPO’s workload perspectives will require further resources; points out that the constantly increasing number of RRF-related cases and VAT fraud, and the complexity of the investigations involving organised crime cross-border operations, will also bring increasing workload on the administrative and central support functions which are inextricably linked to EPPO’s operations; is concerned by the risk of underestimating the needs of the EPPO and overestimating its capacities to react effectively to increasing demands;

Change 28 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed50.51. Notes with satisfaction that adequate gender balance in management positions was reached in 2024 and 2025 (4 women, 5 men) by appointments in middle and senior management of the under-represented gender; observes, on the point of geographical balance, that all the 26 Member StatesEU thatnationalities are partyrepresented, to the EPPO arevarious representeddegrees, onin its staff, with some nationalities more represented than others; calls on the EPPO to finalise its strategy on diversity and inclusion, the implementation of which was decided in 2023;

Change 29 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed52.53. Underlines that the EPPO had indicated a total of 172 EDPs as the target to be appointed by the end of 2024, without considering any additional need resulting from the enlargement to Poland and Sweden; points out that the Union’s budgetary authority agreed to increase the number of EDPs from 140 to 166 only with the allocation of 24 EDPs to Poland and 2 to Sweden; stresses that Union’s budgetary authority continued to grant resources for covering EDPs remunerations corresponding to the payment of 80 % of the AD9 salary, instead of 100 % of the AD9 salary, as decided by the EPPO to make the position more attractive for senior prosecutor having adequate long-lasting professional experience to handle the complex EPPO cases; understands that, because of the financial constraint resulting from this gap in the resources allocated, by the end of 2024 the EPPO was able to deploy, besides the 2 EDPs in Sweden, only 8 EDPs in Poland (instead of the 24 EDPs needed) and 156 EDPs in the other remaining Member States; notes that the slowing down of the intake of additional EDPs negatively affects EPPO’s capacity to direct an increasing number of investigations and prosecutions; further notes that due to the funding gap, the EPPO also had to reduce or postpone investments in the Case Management System, thus preventing the EPPO from improving its ability to direct cross-border investigations; calls on the Commission to assess the situation, in consideration of the increasing workload and of the sensitiveness of the cases handled, and to report to Parliament the results and the possible solutions to cover the financial gap;

Change 30 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed53.54. Maintains that the appointment of EDPs is the shared responsibility of the EPPO and the Member States, because while European Prosecutors are nominated by the Member States and then appointed by the Council, EDPs are nominated by the Member States and appointed by the College; encourages Member States to contribute to the full independence of EDPs and the EPPO; notes that the EPPO has strived to improve the working status of the EDPs in order to make the position more appealing, such as to align the remuneration of EDPs with that of Union officials of equivalent level of responsibility,responsibility (AD9), rather than 80 % of the salary of Union officials, as originally provideddecided for,by the Commission, taking into account that the career progression of EDPs in their national systems remains unclear and, in several cases, the national salary of the most experienced national prosecutors was higher than the salary offered for the EDP position, obliging the EPPO to intervene for the implementation of Article 16(1) of the Conditions of Employment of the EDPs, which provides that, in the case of total net remuneration lower than the national salary, a top-up amount is provided to ensure that the remuneration matches the previous level; reiterates its call for foreseeing a clear career progression path for the EDPs and more favourable administrative discipline on social security and health insurance coverage; insists on the creation of a specific EDPs status, consistently with the nature of their judicial function and calls on the Commission to accordingly propose amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, in the circumstance of its incoming revision, which will also cover the issue of the social security and health insurance coverage gap of the EDPs that has not yet been resolved by all the Member States through legislative or administrative arrangements, even if their adoption is mandatory under Regulation 2017/1939;

Change 31 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed60.61. Observes that, following the positive conclusions of the pilot carried out in 2023, a traineeship policy was drafted and has been approved in 2024, followed by a first cycle of effective trainees the same year; notes that 8 trainees were hosted at the EPPO during 2024, working -as defined in the traineeships policy-, at a time regime pegged to that one of the EPPO’s statutory staff, in this case, under the provisions of Commission Decision C(2022)1788 of 24.3.2022 on working time and hybrid working; appreciates that all EPPO trainees receive a monthly income figure (as a grant); stresses that the high cost of living in Luxembourg poses a considerable obstacle for potential trainees;

Change 32 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed65.66. Welcomes the EPPO’s follow-up with regard to the most recent Parliament resolution on discharge that asked for the adoption of a dedicated whistleblowing and anti-retaliation procedure to integrate the implementing rules to the Staff Regulations adopted by the College (College Decision 077/2021 laying down guidelines on whistleblowing applicable within the EPPO) and to accompany Article 45.12 of the EPPO’s Financial Rules (establishing the actions to be undertaken in the circumstances) in order to ensure a safe and protected workplace; understands that a specific whistleblowing and anti-retaliation procedure has been prepared during 2024 and approved in early 2025; encourages the EPPO to keep intensive internal dialogue on whistleblowing with the confidential counsellors and to involve the NEDPAs on the inherent matters; stresses that the effective implementation of whistleblowing and anti-retaliation procedures is essential for safeguarding the EPPO’s internal integrity and credibility; invites the EPPO to report to the discharge authority on the practical functioning of these safeguards, including staff awareness and trust in the system;

Change 33 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed67.68. Notes that transparency is crucial in the EPPO’s interactions with external actors; appreciates EPPOthe availabilityopenness of the EPPO to look into ways on how to further increase transparency of its interactions with external actors, with due consideration of the sensitivity and specificity of the prosecutorial functionfunction, including the supervision by courts and the imperative to protect the EPPO's independence; maintains the view that the establishment of a mandatory public register of all meetings between the EPPO’s officials and representatives of third parties, including lobbyistslobbyists, even when engaged in advocacy activities related to policy priorities, and national government representatives,representatives would greatly contribute into reinforcing public trust in the EPPO’s independence and its capacity to launch immediate investigations on any case of misuse of public funds, in such a way to prevent any perception of undue influence;

Change 34 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed74.75. Maintains that integration of the EPPO’s CMS and national case-management systems is necessary to increase the effectiveness of the investigations and it is to be pursued in the circumstance of the revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939; anticipates that such integration would require a common consistent digitalisation level across the participating Member States to set a digital working environment that is secured to the same standard as the EPPO’s central officeoffice, andwhile fully respecting national legal frameworks; recalls that the inherent shared costs, on the Member States and the Union, should be taken into account in the budgetary estimation and forecast; appreciates the role and contributions of the NEDPAs in the effective use and feeding of the systems and suggests considering the attribution to them of a specific status in the occasion of the revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939; stresses that any future integration should be based on a balanced sharing of responsibilities between the Union and the Member States;

Change 35 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed75.76. Considers it crucial to mitigate the risks on the EPPO’s IT structural integrity stemming from the aggressive practices of the associations of organised criminals investigated and prosecuted by the EPPO that are prone to react aggressively to EPPO’s interventions to disrupt their criminal activities; appreciates that the overall improved security strategy and global information security policy framework that was proposed in 2023 has been formally approved and adopted in 2024; underlines that physical and digital security and their governance are essential enablers of EPPO’s operational independence and effectiveness and require resources, such as those deployed in the creation of a dedicated unit to address cyber and physical security;

Change 36 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed77.78. Notes that in operational areas the EPPO applies great caution in the use of artificial intelligence and agrees that while AI can assist with data processing, the evaluation of evidence and prosecutorial decision-making remain strictly within full human responsibility; welcomes this approach as essential to safeguarding fundamental rights, legal certainty and accountability; underlines that the EPPO does not perceive AI as able to reduce staff needs, but rather as a supporting tool in coping with the increasing workload; encourages targeted investment in AI tools - provided that their use remains proportionate and training,subordinated to human oversight - and training whose budgetary implications should be offset by efficiency gains in translation and other support processes; calls on the EPPO to provide guidelines to staff on how to use those instruments, specifically targeting the typical processes inherent to EPPO peculiar mandate;

Change 37 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed87.88. Is aware of the EPPO’s efforts toward effective cooperation with Europol, OLAF and Eurojust, which occurs in accordance with the mandate of each organisation, via regular meeting at management and technical levels, and through the “hit/no hit” processes used for bidirectional exchanges of information and to avoid duplication of activities; regrets, however, the limited volume of operational cooperation between OLAF and the EPPO, confirmed by the constantly low number of EPPO cases supported by OLAF (4 cases in 2023 and 5 cases in 2024) compared to the volume of cases for which EPPO has received support in 2024 from Eurojust (25) and Europol (83); notes that cooperation with Europol suffers from limitations stemming from national procedural criminal law and accessibility of the EPPO data owned; considers that further enhancement of cooperation with Europol would allow synergies and the optimisation of resources, notwithstanding the urgent need for the EPPO to develop its internal analytical platform, which is vital to a fast interpretation of the data collected during its investigations and the setting of operational strategies in cross-border cases requiring access to the EPPO’s entire CMS; calls on all the parties to explore adequate ways to create synergies andsynergies, strengthen the cooperation at operational level;level, avoid duplication of tasks and make better use of the existing analytical capacities; welcomes the setting of dedicated working-groups for the Commission’s announced revision of the anti-fraud architecture and expects that the debates, involving all the anti-fraud architecture components, will achieve tangible improvements in the way they cooperate and coordinate the activities, to be presented by the Commission by the end of 2026;

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Changed89.90. Believes that the revision of the regulatory frameworks of OLAF and EPPO provides the opportunity to reconsider many aspects of their working together in the light of the experiences earned in those years of operational activity; stresses that the lessons learned in deploying both the complementary investigations (proposed by OLAF) and the investigations in support (asked by EPPO), has offered a good set of information on which to build for reshaping their cooperation module;modalities; underlines that the same operational experience has indicated the need for increased detection and better reporting; notes that in 2024 the first international exchange of viewsmeeting between EPPO prosecutors and OLAF investigators was hold in Parliament; believes that it can be considered as a pilot to a practice of exchange of views which should become mandatoryperiodic, andprovided periodic;that financial resources are available; reiterates that an adequate dialogue and cooperation amongst the components of the Union’s anti-fraud architecture can be achieved only by setting mandatory inter-institutional forum where strategic issues can be approached and discussed in order to optimise resources and make results tangible;

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Changed95.96. Acknowledges that the EPPO investigations can be launched only if information has reached the prosecutors and expects Member States to comply with legal obligations by reporting all relevant cases to the EPPO; notes with concern that conflicts of competence and systemic obstacles to EPPO investigations persisted in 2024, including cases raising rule-of-law concerns; recalls, in this regard, the EPPO’s public statement on a conflict-of-competence decision in Croatia; calls on the Commission to systematically follow up on such obstacles as part of its responsibility to ensure compliance with Union law and to protect the Union’s financial interests; notes with concern that some Member States have been declaring criminal offences that affects the financial interests of the Union as if they are national cases and refused to acknowledge the competence of the EPPO; expresses its concerns on the possible negative impact on the investigation of these conflicts of competence, for loss of evidence or for the belated collection of evidence; calls on the Commission to collect and assess the information regarding cases of conflicts of competence with a view to have relevant data for the revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939;

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Changed97.98. Notes that in 2024 the EPPO implemented and covered the relevant costs of the ‘EPPO Academy’, organised together with the Guardia di Finanza in Italy, with two international on-site courses of two weeks for 49 investigators; observes that dedicated trainings of law enforcement officers were done in some Member States on crime areas within the EPPO’s mandate; calls on the Commission to support and ensure financing for this valuable training project; remarks that further raise awareness actions have been launched in 2024 by the European Prosecutors and EDPs on a decentralised and central level to national stakeholders, hosting delegations from judiciary, prosecution and law enforcement on numerous occasions;

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Changed104.105. RegretsDeeply regrets that Hungary is the sole remaining Member State that has not yet joined the EPPO, despite the absence of any legal or constitutional impediment; callsstrongly onurges the Hungarian government to join the EPPO without further delay; considers that continued non-participation can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to shield corruption and misuse of Union funds from independent European scrutiny; believes that thisthe wouldcountry’s answeraccession to the strongEPPO expectationwould offinally respond to the long-standing and legitimate demands of civil society and citizens to enhance the legal safeguards against fraud andfraud, corruption and other misconductsserious thatmisconduct, affectand directlyto restore trust in the protection of the Union’s financial interestsinterests, which are currently undermined by persistent deficiencies in enforcement and thatwhich weaken the positive impact of Union policies supportingintended growthto support growth, cohesion and well-being among Hungarian citizens;citizens, SMEs, local and regional authorities;

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Removed105. Stresses that any lack of cooperation with the EPPO by any of the Member States creates niches of immunity and privilege that weakens the defence of the financial interests of the Union making it uneven and inefficient and urges the Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against any Member State that systematically obstructs EPPO-led investigations; asks the Commission to consider the participation to the EPPO as a precondition for receiving Union funds and calls on the Commission to closely monitor Member States’ level of cooperation with the EPPO; in this vein, regrets the cases, reported in 2024, of exposure to threats of OLAF and EPPO investigators in the carrying out of their activities on-the-spot; stresses that such situations undermine the rule of law and weaken the Union’s actions, calling for the establishment of robust preventive and protective measures to safeguard staff where deployed in context at risk;

Added106. Recalls the several attempts by the Hungarian government to carry out systematic espionage against European Commission and OLAF staff;

Removed106. Emphasises that the activities of the EPPO must contribute to the protection of the Union’s financial interests and are expected to recover amounts disbursed from the Union’s budget that were not used for its intended purpose due to criminal activities; observes that the confiscation process, allowing the recovery of such amounts, lie with the national authorities and that the relevant confiscated amounts, or assets value, resulting from measures adopted by the EDPs in the Member States, should get back into the Union budget, after the deduction of costs incurred by the Member States’ authorities to implement those measures in accordance with Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 referring to assets or proceeds to be disposed of in accordance with applicable national law without prejudice to the rights of the Union or other victims to be compensated for damage that they have suffered; recalls that Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control has proposed that the potential revenue resulting from seizing and confiscating measures to be accounted for in the Union budget as non-assigned revenue, under a separate budget line created by budgetary amendment; appreciates the EPPO commitment to engaging with the Commission to support any efforts aiming to ensure the implementation of the above; deems it necessary to amend the Article 38 to make possible its effective implementation and monitoring, in order to ensure the protection of the Union’s budget and calls on the Commission to make the necessary arrangements with the relevant national authorities to allow those amounts to enter into the Union’s budget and to propose the necessary legislative solutions to effectively enforce it.

Added107. Stresses that any lack of cooperation with the EPPO by any of the Member States creates niches of immunity and privilege that weakens the defence of the financial interests of the Union making it uneven and inefficient and urges the Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against any Member State that systematically obstructs EPPO-led investigations; calls on the Commission to consider, in the application of the Regulation (EU, EURATOM) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council, that non-participation in the EPPO may constitute a potential threat to the Union’s financial interests and calls on the Commission to closely monitor Member States’ levels of cooperation with the EPPO; in this vein, strongly regrets the cases, reported in 2024, of exposure to threats by Member States’ governments to OLAF and EPPO investigators in the carrying out of their activities on-the-spot; stresses that such situations undermine the rule of law, constitute a serious breach of mutual trust and loyal cooperation among Member States and Union institutions, and weaken the Union’s actions, calling for the establishment of robust preventive and protective measures to safeguard staff where deployed in situations that put them at risk;

Added108. Emphasises that the activities of the EPPO must contribute to the protection of the Union’s financial interests and are expected to result in the recovery of amounts disbursed from the Union’s budget that were not used for its intended purpose due to criminal activities; observes that the confiscation process, allowing the recovery of such amounts, lie with the national authorities and that the relevant confiscated amounts, or assets value, resulting from measures adopted by the EDPs in the Member States, should get back into the Union budget, after the deduction of costs incurred by the Member States’ authorities to implement those measures in accordance with Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 referring to assets or proceeds to be disposed of in accordance with applicable national law without prejudice to the rights of the Union or other victims to be compensated for damage that they have suffered; recalls that Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control has proposed that the potential revenue resulting from seizing and confiscating measures to be accounted for in the Union budget as non-assigned revenue, under a separate budget line created by budgetary amendment; appreciates the EPPO commitment to engaging with the Commission to support any efforts aiming to ensure the implementation of the above; deems it necessary to amend the Article 38 to make possible its effective implementation and monitoring, in order to ensure the protection of the Union’s budget and calls on the Commission to make the necessary arrangements with the relevant national authorities to allow those amounts to enter into the Union’s budget and to propose the necessary legislative solutions to effectively enforce it;

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Changed108.110. emphasisesEmphasises the crucial role of asset recovery and its deterrent effect on organised crime; observes that the EPPO’s participation in international networks should enhance effectiveness of asset recovery operations; reiterates that timely and effective investigation and prosecution of financial crimes should result into significant savings for the Union’s and the Member States’ budgets;

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ChangedEffect of the illegal Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

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Changed114.116. Welcomes the decision not to adopt the legislation voted in Ukraine’s Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, in July 2025, which would have weakened the effectiveness of the actions by the UkranianUkrainian specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office (SAPO) and national anti-corruption bureau (NABU), in particular in view of the recent cases of high-level corruption reported by the media which underlines the need for a precautionary and prudent approach when dealing with corruption offences and the importance of the Ukrainian’s efforts to effectively pursue transparency goals;

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Changed115.117. Is aware that the EPPO signed three working arrangements with Ukrainian Prosecutor general’s office - PGO, the national anti-corruption bureau - NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, all with a view to facilitating cooperation in respective investigations based on existing legal framework; notes that in 2024 the EPPO organised in its premises four trainings of Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators from NABU; recalls that under specific circumstances the EPPO’s remit can extend to Union funds even when used in third countries and can as well cover the circumventions of Union sanctions insofar as they fall under the EPPO’s current mandate involving potential prejudice to Union’s financial interests by way of evasion of customs or duties; understands that detection and reporting of frauds by relevant authorities remains indeed the crucial prerequisite for any further cooperation and that the exchange of expertise launched with the training offer will further assist the Ukrainian authorities in their detection efforts of potential fraud involving Union funds; appreciates the EPPO’s availability to step up cooperation by establishing dedicated task forces with the Ukrainian authorities to coordinate investigations where needed in consideration of the volume and scope of crime reported.reported;

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Added118. Notes that the growing volume of Union financial support to Ukraine, including under the Ukraine Facility, is likely to generate additional investigative demands for the EPPO in the coming years; stresses the importance of anticipating these challenges through adequate staffing, secure digital infrastructure and reinforced cooperation frameworks, in order to protect the Union’s financial interests while supporting Ukraine effectively.