The European Public Prosecutor's Office started its operations on 1 June 2021
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is an independent EU body based in Luxembourg. As of now, 22 EU Member States are participating in this enhanced cooperation. Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Sweden have not yet joined, but they can do so at any time, however, Denmark has clearly indicated its unwillingness to attend. The EPPO, which is the first supranational prosecutor’s office, has the power to investigate and prosecute crimes affecting the EU budget such as fraud, corruption, money laundering and cross-border VAT fraud. Moreover, EPPO can also investigate and prosecute any other illegal activity that is "inextricably linked" to crimes against the EU budget.
EPPO operates as a single office across all participating EU Member States and combines European and national law enforcement efforts in a unified and supranational way. As a result, EPPO is organised on two levels. The central level consists of the European Chief Prosecutor, 22 European Prosecutors (i.e. one per participating EU country), two of whom are appointed as Deputy European Chief Prosecutors, and the Administrative Director. The decentralised level consists of European Delegated Prosecutors who will be located in the participating EU countries. The central level supervises the investigations and prosecutions carried out at the national level. EPPO may also initiate the arrest of suspects, however, this must be agreed with the relevant national authorities.
EPPO conducts its investigations and prosecutions independently from the Commission, or other EU institutions and bodies, and will work in cooperation with other EU bodies and agencies. Its partners include OLAF, Eurojust and Europol, as well as the competent authorities of Member States that do not participate in the work of EPPO.