Spark, in collaboration with CSES, Asterisk and Tetra Tech, is proud to share the publication of a new study supporting the evaluation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) Regulation, conducted for the European Commission (DG JUST).
The study provides a comprehensive assessment of the EPPO’s first years of operation and its contribution to protecting the EU’s financial interests. The findings highlight the added value of a supranational prosecution office capable of investigating and prosecuting complex cross-border fraud cases, while also identifying legal, operational and structural challenges that continue to affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the EPPO framework. In particular, the study examines aspects related to cooperation between the EPPO and national authorities, interactions with key EU actors such as OLAF and Eurojust, data protection requirements, and the functioning of the EPPO’s unique decentralised structure.
As part of the study, Spark also conducted a comprehensive conformity assessment of the frameworks of the 24 Member States participating in the EPPO, with the support of a network of national legal experts and two key experts. This work examined the extent to which national legal frameworks comply with and give effect to the provisions of the EPPO Regulation. The findings for each participating Member State are available in an annex to the final report, providing a detailed overview of the conformity status across the 24 Member States, offering valuable insights into the practical implementation of the EPPO Regulation at national level.
The study comes at a particularly important moment for the future of the EU Anti-Fraud Architecture. As the Union continues to strengthen its response to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU budget, the findings provide valuable evidence on how the EPPO can further evolve and operate even more effectively alongside other EU and national bodies. The study also contributes to ongoing reflections on the future revision of the EPPO Regulation, the OLAF framework and the broader anti-fraud system, helping to ensure that the EU is equipped to address increasingly complex and transnational forms of financial crime. The study therefore represents an important contribution to the ongoing reflections of the European Commission on the possible future revisions of the EPPO Regulation which are taking place in the context of the broader EU Anti-Fraud Architecture review. Spark is contributing to this process, in collaboration with CSES, Asterisk and Tetra Tech, through the ongoing study to support the joint impact assessment of the EPPO Regulation, the OLAF Regulation, and the PIF Directive.
The final report is available here, while the annexes to the report are available here.