By Dan Byrne for AMLi
INTERNAL EU POLITICS are threatening the bloc’s drive to prosecute major crimes as a single unit, according to legal experts.
The new European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) – intended to be a driving force in the fight against financial crime on the continent – will be seriously understaffed unless the bloc arrives as a budget breakthrough, a spokesperson has claimed.
Unless current circumstances change, the EPPO will have to commence its work with just a third of the staff that it actually needs, the spokesperson for the office told the Luxembourg Times.
“The delays could have a serious impact on the EPPO budget for 2021, as it will on other EU bodies,” they said. “If the whole EU budget is not [adopted], we will need to look for alternative resources to get EPPO operational.
As things stand, the EU remains at an impasse. Poland and Hungary are steadfast in their objection to the so-called Multi-Annual Financial Framework intended to provide EU institutions with a bankroll for the next six years.
The framework includes a condition that funding recipients must adhere to specific democratic principles. Poland and Hungary object to this and have threatened to veto the budget.
Additionally, there is disagreement between the European Commission and Council over employee numbers, with the Council seeking a reduction in the Commission’s 35,000 staff headcount before approving any increases elsewhere.
For the EPPO, being caught in internal politics would be a further setback in what has been a challenging launch period. The office was due to be fully functioning this year, but several delays have pushed this date back to 2021.
EPPO prosecutor Danilo Ceccarelli previously told AMLi that a complex network of setbacks were to blame for the delay. COVID-19 was a factor, in addition to the difficulties finding offices, securing computers and recruiting personnel.
Ceccarelli stressed that it was a complicated process to coordinate an EU-wide prosecution service across 27 member-states.
“Each member state is responding differently,” he said. “They’re trying to organise in a different way. So, there are negotiations every day between EPPO and the member states.”
Separately, EPPO head Laura Kövesi admitted that despite past concessions on budget allowance from the EU, “we’re still short the €18 million we need to start in the proper way, such that our activity will not be effectively halted within just one or two months.”
When functioning normally, the office intends to handle any case of financial crime involving funds worth €10,000 or more.
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