European Public Prosecutor’s Office: EU Prosecutors take their oath at the European Court of Justice

Today, the European Prosecutors of the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office have taken their oath in a ceremony at the European Court of Justice. Vice-President Jourová, Commissioners Hahn and Reynders have issued a statement today on the occasion: “We welcome and congratulate the new European Prosecutors, who today have taken their solemn oath to do their crucial work for the European Union in combatting fraud and corruption. Their mission is clear: to fight financial crime and protect the EU taxpayer’s money. Criminals know no borders. It is time prosecutors do not either. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office will be a game changer in fighting cross-border financial crimes. The Office will complement the important work of Eurojust and OLAF, creating a unified European approach to fighting crimes that affect the Union’s financial interests. The European Prosecutors have a crucial job to do: they need to bring justice into an area where impunity is frequent and losses are significant for both the EU and national budgets. For this, they must be independent, determined and thorough in their investigations. We are glad that, despite the challenges of the pandemic, together we still managed to achieve our goal of setting up the new office this year.” The European Public Prosecutor’s Office was set up because every year billions of euro are lost in revenue because of fraud, including cross-border VAT fraud. More information on the structure and work of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is available here.