(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, JUN 1 - A newly created EU
prosecutor's office started work on Tuesday, in time to throw
legal-eagle scrutiny on hundreds of billions of euros of Covid
recovery spending about to sprayed across the bloc. The
Luxembourg-based European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), an
independent outfit headed by a Romanian anti-corruption chief,
Laura Codruta Kovesi, has the job of cracking down on fraudulent
use of EU funds. Kovesi called the EPPO's launch "a historic
moment" and said: "Our target (is) economic and financial
criminality. Make no mistake, this is the most common threat to
any democratic society." Her team was meant to have started late
last year but a delay in the 22 participating EU member states
nominating prosecutors to the body pushed back its launch. Even
now, Slovenia and Finland have yet to designate their officials.
The EU commissioner for transparency, Vera Jourova, called the
office "a unique body" that filled a gap in the bloc's crackdown
on fraud. (ANSA-AFP).
© Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved