European Public Prosecutor: The more efficient we are, the happier finance ministers are

In Europe, 60 billion euros are embezzled every year, a figure presented at the press conference of the House of Europe by the European Public Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi. The prosecutor is on an official visit to Croatia, and during her address to the media, she emphasized the need for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) for additional resources.

– In the first year of operation, we seized 250 million euros worth of criminal assets. The annual budget of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is 44 million euros. So, you invest one euro, and you get five back. In my opinion, that is a very good investment – stated Codruța Kövesi.

As the prosecutor stated, all the money that is seized goes directly into state budgets.

– The more efficient we are, the happier finance ministers are. To be more efficient, we are not only asking for more financial resources, we also need a review of regulations as soon as possible – explained the prosecutor.

Considering that Croatia will enter the eurozone in two months, it has a certain responsibility, but also an advantage in protecting the European budget, and thus greater protection from criminal groups, the prosecutor confirms.

– EPPO is not foreign. We have an office in Zagreb with people who speak Croatian. We exist to protect your money, so feel free to contact us – said the prosecutor, adding that they are there to protect the money of European Union citizens.

– There is no ‘clean’ country in Europe, corruption is everywhere – emphasized Codruța Kövesi, stating that just because some countries, like Croatia, have more corruption cases than others does not mean that there is no corruption in other countries.

Although she could not speak about specific cases they are working on, she confirmed that they have several dozen cases under investigation in Croatia. One of the most publicly known cases of the EPPO investigation is certainly that of Gabrijela Žalac.

The mission of the EPPO is to combat fraud directed against the finances of the EU. The office is authorized to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses that harm the financial interests of the EU.

As stated on the official website of the EU Council, the EPPO conducts cross-border investigations of fraud related to EU funds exceeding 10,000 euros or cross-border VAT fraud that has caused damage greater than 10 million euros.

In doing so, it closely cooperates with national law enforcement bodies, as well as with other bodies, such as Eurojust and Europol.