Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939Show full title

CHAPTER III U.K. STATUS, STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF THE EPPO

SECTION 1 U.K. Status and structure of the EPPO

Article 8 U.K. Structure of the EPPO

1. The EPPO shall be an indivisible Union body operating as one single Office with a decentralised structure.

2. The EPPO shall be organised at a central level and at a decentralised level.

3. The central level shall consist of a Central Office at the seat of the EPPO. The Central Office shall consist of the College, the Permanent Chambers, the European Chief Prosecutor, the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors, the European Prosecutors and the Administrative Director.

4. The decentralised level shall consist of European Delegated Prosecutors who shall be located in the Member States.

5. The Central Office and the European Delegated Prosecutors shall be assisted by the staff of the EPPO in their duties under this Regulation.

Article 9 U.K. The College

1. The College of the EPPO shall consist of the European Chief Prosecutor and one European Prosecutor per Member State. The European Chief Prosecutor shall chair the meetings of the College and shall be responsible for their preparation.

2. The College shall meet regularly and shall be responsible for the general oversight of the activities of the EPPO. It shall take decisions on strategic matters, and on general issues arising from individual cases, in particular with a view to ensuring coherence, efficiency and consistency in the prosecution policy of the EPPO throughout the Member States, as well on other matters as specified in this Regulation. The College shall not take operational decisions in individual cases. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall provide for modalities on the exercise by the College of the general oversight activities and for taking decisions on strategic matters and general issues in accordance with this Article.

3. On a proposal by the European Chief Prosecutor and following the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO, the College shall set up Permanent Chambers.

4. The College shall adopt internal rules of procedure of the EPPO in accordance with Article 21, and shall further stipulate the responsibilities for the performance of functions of the members of the College and the staff of the EPPO.

5. Unless otherwise stated in this Regulation, the College shall take decisions by simple majority. Any member of the College shall have the right to initiate voting on matters to be decided by the College. Each member of the College shall have one vote. The European Chief Prosecutor shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie vote on any matter to be decided by the College.

Article 10 U.K. The Permanent Chambers

1. The Permanent Chambers shall be chaired by the European Chief Prosecutor or one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors, or a European Prosecutor appointed as Chair in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. In addition to the Chair, the Permanent Chambers shall have two permanent Members. The number of Permanent Chambers, and their composition, as well as the division of competences between the Chambers, shall take due account of the functional needs of the EPPO and be determined in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall ensure an equal distribution of workload on the basis of a system of random allocation of cases and shall, in exceptional cases, establish procedures, where necessary for the proper functioning of the EPPO, to allow the European Chief Prosecutor to decide to deviate from the principle of random allocation.

2. The Permanent Chambers shall monitor and direct the investigations and prosecutions conducted by the European Delegated Prosecutors in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article. They shall also ensure the coordination of investigations and prosecutions in cross-border cases, and shall ensure the implementation of decisions taken by the College in accordance with Article 9(2).

3. In accordance with the conditions and procedures set out by this Regulation, where applicable after reviewing a draft decision proposed by the handling European Delegated Prosecutor, the Permanent Chambers shall decide on the following issues:

(a) to bring a case to judgment in accordance with Article 36(1), (3) and (4);

(b) to dismiss a case in accordance with point (a) to (g) of Article 39(1);

(c) to apply a simplified prosecution procedure and to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to act with a view to finally dispose of the case in accordance with Article 40;

(d) to refer a case to the national authorities in accordance with Article 34(1), (2), (3) or (6);

(e) to reopen an investigation in accordance with Article 39(2).

4. Where necessary, the Permanent Chambers shall take the following decisions, in accordance with the conditions and procedures set out in this Regulation:

(a) to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to initiate an investigation in accordance with the rules in Article 26(1) to (4) where no investigation has been initiated;

(b) to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to exercise the right of evocation in accordance with Article 27(6) where the case has not been evoked;

(c) to refer to the College strategic matters or general issues arising from individual cases in accordance with Article 9(2);

(d) to allocate a case in accordance with Article 26(3);

(e) to reallocate a case in accordance with Article 26(5) or 28(3);

(f) to approve the decision of a European Prosecutor to conduct the investigation himself or herself in accordance with Article 28(4).

5. The competent Permanent Chamber, acting through the European Prosecutor who is supervising the investigation or the prosecution, may in a specific case give instructions in compliance with applicable national law to the handling European Delegated Prosecutor, where it is necessary for the efficient handling of the investigation or prosecution, in the interest of justice, or to ensure the coherent functioning of the EPPO.

6. The Permanent Chamber shall take decisions by simple majority. The Chamber shall vote at the request of any of its members. Each member shall have one vote. The Chair shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie vote. Decisions shall be taken after deliberation in meetings of the Chamber on the basis, where applicable, of the draft decision proposed by the handling European Delegated Prosecutor.

All case material shall be accessible upon request to the competent Permanent Chamber for the purpose of preparing decisions.

7. The Permanent Chambers may decide to delegate their decision-making power under point (a) or (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article, and in the latter case only in respect of the rules set out in points (a) to (f) of Article 39(1) to the European Prosecutor supervising the case in accordance with Article 12(1) where such delegations can be duly justified with reference to the degree of seriousness of the offence or the complexity of the proceedings in the individual case, with regard to an offence that has caused or is likely to cause damage to the financial interests of the Union of less than EUR 100 000. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall set guidelines with a view to ensuring a consistent application within the EPPO.

The Permanent Chamber shall inform the European Chief Prosecutor of any decision to delegate their decision-making power. On reception of that information, the European Chief Prosecutor may within 3 days request the Permanent Chamber to review its decision if the European Chief Prosecutor considers that the interest to ensure the coherence of the investigations and prosecutions of the EPPO so requires. If the European Chief Prosecutor is a Member of the relevant Permanent Chamber, one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors shall exercise the right to request the said review. The supervising European Prosecutor shall report to the Permanent Chamber about the final disposal of the case as well as any information or circumstance he/she deems to be likely to necessitate a new assessment of the opportunity to maintain the delegation, in particular in circumstances referred to in Article 36(3).

The decision to delegate decision-making power may be withdrawn at any time on the request of one of the Members of the Permanent Chamber and shall be decided in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article. A delegation shall be withdrawn when a European Delegated Prosecutor has substituted the European Prosecutor in accordance with Article 16(7).

To ensure coherent application of the principle of delegation, each Permanent Chamber shall report annually to the College on the use of delegation.

8. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall authorise the Permanent Chambers to take decisions by means of a written procedure to be laid down in detail in the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

All decisions taken and instructions given in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 7 shall be recorded in writing and become part of the case file.

9. In addition to the permanent Members, the European Prosecutor who is supervising an investigation or a prosecution in accordance with Article 12(1) shall participate in the deliberations of the Permanent Chamber. The European Prosecutor shall have a right to vote, except as regards the Permanent Chamber’s decisions on delegation or withdrawal of delegation in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, on allocation and reallocation under Article 26(3), (4) and (5) and Article 27(6) and on bringing a case to judgment in accordance with Article 36(3), where more than one Member State has jurisdiction for the case, as well as situations described in Article 31(8).

A Permanent Chamber may also, either at the request of a European Prosecutor or a European Delegated Prosecutor or on its own initiative, invite other European Prosecutors or European Delegated Prosecutors who are concerned by a case to attend its meetings without a right to vote.

10. The Chairs of the Permanent Chambers shall, in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO, keep the College informed of the decisions taken pursuant to this Article, in order to enable the College to fulfil its role under Article 9(2).

Article 11 U.K. The European Chief Prosecutor and the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors

1. The European Chief Prosecutor shall be the Head of the EPPO. The European Chief Prosecutor shall organise the work of the EPPO, direct its activities, and take decisions in accordance with this Regulation and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

2. Two Deputy European Chief Prosecutors shall be appointed to assist the European Chief Prosecutor in the discharge of his/her duties and to act as replacement when he/she is absent or is prevented from attending to those duties.

3. The European Chief Prosecutor shall represent the EPPO vis-à-vis the institutions of the Union and of the Member States of the European Union, and third parties. The European Chief Prosecutor may delegate his/her tasks relating to representation to one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors or to a European Prosecutor.

Article 12 U.K. The European Prosecutors

1. On behalf of the Permanent Chamber and in compliance with any instructions it has given in accordance with Article 10(3), (4) and (5), the European Prosecutors shall supervise the investigations and prosecutions for which the European Delegated Prosecutors handling the case in their Member State of origin are responsible. The European Prosecutors shall present summaries of the cases under their supervision and, where applicable, proposals for decisions to be taken by the said Chamber, on the basis of draft decisions prepared by the European Delegated Prosecutors.

The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall, without prejudice to Article 16(7), provide for a mechanism of substitution between European Prosecutors where the supervising European Prosecutor is temporarily absent from his/her duties or is for other reasons not available to carry out the functions of the European Prosecutors. The substitute European Prosecutor may fulfil any function of a European Prosecutor, except the possibility to conduct an investigation provided for in Article 28(4).

2. A European Prosecutor may request, on an exceptional basis, on grounds related to the workload resulting from the number of investigations and prosecutions in the European Prosecutor’s Member State of origin, or a personal conflict of interest, that the supervision of investigations and prosecutions of individual cases handled by European Delegated Prosecutors in his/her Member State of origin be assigned to other European Prosecutors, subject to the agreement of the latter. The European Chief Prosecutor shall decide on the request based on the workload of a European Prosecutor. In the case of a conflict of interests concerning a European Prosecutor, the European Chief Prosecutor shall grant that request. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall lay down the principles governing that decision and the procedure for the subsequent allocation of the cases concerned. Article 28(4) shall not apply to investigations and prosecutions supervised in accordance with this paragraph.

3. The supervising European Prosecutors may, in a specific case and in compliance with applicable national law and with the instructions given by the competent Permanent Chamber, give instructions to the handling European Delegated Prosecutor, whenever necessary for the efficient handling of the investigation or prosecution or in the interest of justice, or to ensure the coherent functioning of the EPPO.

4. Where the national law of a Member State provides for the internal review of certain acts within the structure of a national prosecutor’s office, the review of such acts taken by the European Delegated Prosecutor shall fall under the supervisory powers of the supervising European Prosecutor in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO without prejudice to the supervisory and monitoring powers of the Permanent Chamber.

5. The European Prosecutors shall function as liaisons and information channels between the Permanent Chambers and the European Delegated Prosecutors in their respective Member States of origin. They shall monitor the implementation of the tasks of the EPPO in their respective Member States, in close consultation with the European Delegated Prosecutors. They shall ensure, in accordance with this Regulation and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO that all relevant information from the Central Office is provided to European Delegated Prosecutors and vice versa.

Article 13 U.K. The European Delegated Prosecutors

1. The European Delegated Prosecutors shall act on behalf of the EPPO in their respective Member States and shall have the same powers as national prosecutors in respect of investigations, prosecutions and bringing cases to judgment, in addition and subject to the specific powers and status conferred on them, and under the conditions set out in this Regulation.

The European Delegated Prosecutors shall be responsible for those investigations and prosecutions that they have initiated, that have been allocated to them or that they have taken over using their right of evocation. The European Delegated Prosecutors shall follow the direction and instructions of the Permanent Chamber in charge of a case as well as the instructions from the supervising European Prosecutor.

The European Delegated Prosecutors shall also be responsible for bringing a case to judgment, in particular have the power to present trial pleas, participate in taking evidence and exercise the available remedies in accordance with national law.

2. There shall be two or more European Delegated Prosecutors in each Member State. The European Chief Prosecutor shall, after consulting and reaching an agreement with the relevant authorities of the Member States, approve the number of European Delegated Prosecutors, as well as the functional and territorial division of competences between the European Delegated Prosecutors within each Member State.

3. The European Delegated Prosecutors may also exercise functions as national prosecutors, to the extent that this does not prevent them from fulfilling their obligations under this Regulation. They shall inform the supervising European Prosecutor of such functions. In the event that a European Delegated Prosecutor at any given moment is unable to fulfil his/her functions as a European Delegated Prosecutor because of the exercise of such functions as national prosecutor, he/she shall notify the supervising European Prosecutor, who shall consult the competent national prosecution authorities in order to determine whether priority should be given to their functions under this Regulation. The European Prosecutor may propose to the Permanent Chamber to reallocate the case to another European Delegated Prosecutor in the same Member State or that he/she conduct the investigations himself/herself in accordance with Article 28(3) and (4).

SECTION 2 U.K. Appointment and dismissal of the members of the EPPO

Article 14 U.K. Appointment and dismissal of the European Chief Prosecutor

1. The European Parliament and the Council shall appoint by common accord the European Chief Prosecutor for a non-renewable term of 7 years. The Council shall act by simple majority.

2. The European Chief Prosecutor shall be selected from among candidates:

(a) who are active members of the public prosecution service or judiciary of the Member States, or active European Prosecutors;

(b) whose independence is beyond doubt;

(c) who possess the qualifications required for appointment to the highest prosecutorial or judicial offices in their respective Member States and have relevant practical experience of national legal systems, financial investigations and of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, or have served as European Prosecutors, and

(d) who have sufficient managerial experience and qualifications for the position.

3. The selection shall be based on an open call for candidates, to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, following which a selection panel shall draw up a shortlist of qualified candidates to be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council. The selection panel shall comprise twelve persons chosen from among former members of the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, former national members of Eurojust, members of national supreme courts, high level prosecutors and lawyers of recognised competence. One of the persons chosen shall be proposed by the European Parliament. The Council shall establish the selection panel’s operating rules and shall adopt a decision appointing its members on a proposal from the Commission.

4. If a European Prosecutor is appointed to be the European Chief Prosecutor, his/her position of European Prosecutor shall without delay be filled in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 16(1) and (2).

5. The Court of Justice may, upon the application of the European Parliament, of the Council or of the Commission, dismiss the European Chief Prosecutor if it finds that he/she is no longer able to perform his/her duties, or that he/she is guilty of serious misconduct.

6. If the European Chief Prosecutor resigns, if he/she is dismissed or leaves his/her position for any reason, the position shall immediately be filled in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.

Article 15 U.K. Appointment and dismissal of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors

1. The College shall appoint two European Prosecutors to serve as Deputy European Chief Prosecutors for a renewable mandate period of 3 years, which shall not exceed the periods for their mandates as European Prosecutors. The selection process shall be regulated by the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. The Deputy European Chief Prosecutors shall retain their status as European Prosecutors.

2. The rules and conditions for the exercise of the function of Deputy European Chief Prosecutor shall be set out in the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. If a European Prosecutor is no longer able to perform his/her duties as Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, the College may decide in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO to dismiss the Deputy European Chief Prosecutor from that position.

3. If a Deputy European Chief Prosecutor resigns, is dismissed or leaves his/her position as a Deputy European Chief Prosecutor for any reason, the position shall, without delay, be filled in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. Subject to the rules in Article 16, he/she shall remain European Prosecutor.

Article 16 U.K. Appointment and dismissal of the European Prosecutors

1. Each Member State shall nominate three candidates for the position of European Prosecutor from among candidates:

(a) who are active members of the public prosecution service or judiciary of the relevant Member State;

(b) whose independence is beyond doubt; and

(c) who possess the qualifications required for appointment to high prosecutorial or judicial office in their respective Member States, and who have relevant practical experience of national legal systems, of financial investigations and of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

2. After having received the reasoned opinion of the selection panel referred to in Article 14(3), the Council shall select and appoint one of the candidates to be the European Prosecutor of the Member State in question. If the selection panel finds that a candidate does not fulfil the conditions required for the performance of the duties of a European Prosecutor, its opinion shall be binding on the Council.

3. The Council, acting by simple majority, shall select and appoint the European Prosecutors for a non-renewable term of 6 years. The Council may decide to extend the mandate for a maximum of 3 years at the end of the 6-year period.

4. Every 3 years there shall be a partial replacement of one third of the European Prosecutors. The Council, acting by simple majority, shall adopt transitional rules for the appointment of European Prosecutors for and during the first mandate period.

5. The Court of Justice may, upon application of the European Parliament, of the Council or of the Commission, dismiss a European Prosecutor if it finds that he/she is no longer able to perform his/her duties or that he/she is guilty of serious misconduct.

6. If a European Prosecutor resigns, is dismissed or leaves his/her position for any other reason, the position shall without delay be filled in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 1 and 2. If the European Prosecutor in question also serves as Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, he/she shall automatically be dismissed from the latter position.

7. The College shall, upon nomination of each European Prosecutor, designate one of the European Delegated Prosecutors of the same Member State to substitute the European Prosecutor in case he/she is unable to carry out his/her functions or left his/her position according to paragraphs 5 and 6.

Where the College acknowledges the need for substitution, the designated person shall act as an interim European Prosecutor, pending replacement or return of the European Prosecutor, for a period not exceeding 3 months. The College may, upon request, prolong that period if necessary. The mechanisms and modalities of temporary substitution shall be determined and governed by the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

Article 17 U.K. Appointment and dismissal of the European Delegated Prosecutors

1. Upon a proposal by the European Chief Prosecutor, the College shall appoint the European Delegated Prosecutors nominated by the Member States. The College may reject a person who has been nominated if he/she does not fulfil the criteria referred to in paragraph 2. The European Delegated Prosecutors shall be appointed for a renewable term of 5 years.

2. The European Delegated Prosecutors shall, from the time of their appointment as European Delegated Prosecutors until dismissal, be active members of the public prosecution service or judiciary of the respective Member States which nominated them. Their independence shall be beyond doubt and they shall possess the necessary qualifications and relevant practical experience of their national legal system.

3. The College shall dismiss a European Delegated Prosecutor if it finds that he/she no longer fulfils the requirements set out in paragraph 2, is unable to perform his/her duties, or is guilty of serious misconduct.

4. If a Member State decides to dismiss, or to take disciplinary action against, a national prosecutor who has been appointed as European Delegated Prosecutor for reasons not connected with his/her responsibilities under this Regulation, it shall inform the European Chief Prosecutor before taking such action. A Member State may not dismiss, or take disciplinary action against, a European Delegated Prosecutor for reasons connected with his/her responsibilities under this Regulation without the consent of the European Chief Prosecutor. If the European Chief Prosecutor does not consent, the Member State concerned may request the College to review the matter.

5. If a European Delegated Prosecutor resigns, if his/her services are no longer necessary to fulfil the duties of the EPPO, or if he/she is dismissed or leaves his/her position for any other reason, the relevant Member State shall immediately inform the European Chief Prosecutor and, where necessary, nominate another prosecutor to be appointed as the new European Delegated Prosecutor in accordance with paragraph 1.

Article 18 U.K. Status of the Administrative Director

1. The Administrative Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the EPPO under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment.

2. The Administrative Director shall be appointed by the College from a list of candidates proposed by the European Chief Prosecutor, following an open and transparent selection procedure in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. For the purpose of concluding the contract of the Administrative Director, the EPPO shall be represented by the European Chief Prosecutor.

3. The term of office of the Administrative Director shall be 4 years. By the end of that period, the College shall undertake an assessment which takes into account an evaluation of the performance of the Administrative Director.

4. The College, acting on a proposal from the European Chief Prosecutor which takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, may extend once the term of office of the Administrative Director for a period of no more than 4 years.

5. An Administrative Director whose term of office has been extended may not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period.

6. The Administrative Director shall be accountable to the European Chief Prosecutor and the College.

7. Upon a decision of the College on the basis of a two-thirds majority of its members and without prejudice to the applicable rules pertaining to the termination of contract in the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment, the Administrative Director may be removed from the EPPO.

Article 19 U.K. Responsibilities of the Administrative Director

1. For administrative and budgetary purposes, the EPPO shall be managed by its Administrative Director.

2. Without prejudice to the powers of the College or the European Chief Prosecutor, the Administrative Director shall be independent in the performance of his/her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any other body.

3. The Administrative Director shall be the legal representative of the EPPO for administrative and budgetary purposes. The Administrative Director shall implement the budget of the EPPO.

4. The Administrative Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the administrative tasks assigned to the EPPO, in particular:

(a) the day-to-day administration of the EPPO and staff management;

(b) implementing the decisions adopted by the European Chief Prosecutor or the College;

(c) preparing a proposal for the annual and multi-annual programming document and submitting it to the European Chief Prosecutor;

(d) implementing the annual and multi-annual programming documents and reporting to the College on their implementation;

(e) preparing the administrative and budgetary parts of the annual report on the EPPO’s activities;

(f) preparing an action plan following-up on the conclusions of the internal or external audit reports, evaluations and investigations, including those of the European Data Protection Supervisor and OLAF and reporting to them and to the College twice a year;

(g) preparing an internal anti-fraud strategy for the EPPO and presenting it to the College for approval;

(h) preparing a proposal for the draft financial rules applicable to the EPPO, and submitting it to the European Chief Prosecutor;

(i) preparing a proposal for the EPPO’s draft statement of estimates of revenues and expenditures, and submitting it to the European Chief Prosecutor;

(j) providing necessary administrative support to facilitate the operational work of the EPPO;

(k) providing support to the European Chief Prosecutor and the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors in the carrying out of their duties.

Article 20 U.K. Provisional administrative arrangements of the EPPO

1. Based on provisional budgetary appropriations allocated in its own budget, the Commission shall be responsible for the establishment and initial administrative operation of the EPPO until the latter has the capacity to implement its own budget. For that purpose the Commission may:

(a) designate, after consulting with the Council, a Commission official to act as interim Administrative Director and exercise the duties assigned to the Administrative Director, including the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment on the appointing authority regarding administrative staff of the EPPO, in respect of any staff positions which need to be filled before the Administrative Director takes up his or her duties in accordance with Article 18;

(b) offer assistance to the EPPO, in particular by seconding a limited number of Commission officials necessary to carry out the administrative activities of the EPPO under the responsibility of the interim Administrative Director.

2. The interim Administrative Director may authorise all payments covered by appropriations entered in the EPPO’s budget and may conclude contracts, including staff contracts.

3. Once the College takes up its duties in accordance with Article 9(1), the interim Administrative Director shall exercise his/her duties in accordance with Article 18. The interim Administrative Director shall cease to exercise that function once the Administrative Director has taken up duties following appointment by the College in accordance with Article 18.

4. Until the College takes up its duties in accordance with Article 9(1), the Commission shall exercise its functions set out in this Article in consultation with a group of experts composed of representatives of the Member States.

SECTION 3 U.K. Internal rules of procedure of the EPPO

Article 21 U.K. Internal rules of procedure of the EPPO

1. The organisation of the work of the EPPO shall be governed by its internal rules of procedure

2. Once the EPPO has been set up, the European Chief Prosecutor shall without delay prepare a proposal for the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO, to be adopted by the College by a two-thirds majority.

3. Modifications to the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO may be proposed by any European Prosecutor and shall be adopted if the College so decides by a two-thirds majority.