Bid to boost Eurojust role to fight fraud

Date: 23/11/00

By John Shelley

PLANS to appoint a European prosecutor to investigate fraud involving money from Union coffers are all but dead, but an alternative proposal to give extra crime-fighting powers to a team of national investigators is gaining support.

Attempts by European Commission President Romano Prodi to create an EU public prosecutor's office as part of treaty changes due to be agreed next month are being opposed by member states.

But the French presidency has come forward with an alternative plan to give Eurojust - the proposed new office made up of national prosecutors from across the Union - extra powers to combat crime against the EU's institutions. "The prosecutor idea is dead basically," said one diplomat. "But when the French suggested making a reference to Eurojust, most delegations said they would be willing to do that."

Commission officials claim a prosecutor with pan-European jurisdiction is needed to crack down on criminals who defraud the Union of billions of euro every year. They say this task cannot be left to Eurojust, as it will not have all the necessary powers.

Under current plans, the new body will only have a coordinating role and will not be able to pursue cases on its own, or demand that member states launch investigations.

But a beefed-up Eurojust may be the best the Commission can hope for, given the grave doubts expressed by governments about ceding judicial powers to a prosecutor based outside their borders.

Commission officials acknowledge that Eurojust would still have advantages over the Union's existing anti-fraud body, OLAF, despite its relatively weak powers. They say that because each member state would be represented on Eurojust, it would be easier for the new body to get involved in national investigations.

Plans to appoint a European prosecutor to investigate fraud involving money from Union coffers are all but dead, but an alternative proposal to give extra crime-fighting powers to a team of national investigators is gaining support.