EU to set-up European Prosecution. Poland not involved

Twenty EU member states countries agreed to set up an EU-wide prosecution service to tackle misuse of EU funds or large-scale VAT fraud. Poland, along with Malta, the Netherlands (which already said it will join the program in the future), Ireland, Sweden, Hungary, and the UK did not sign the agreement. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) will be based in Luxembourg and take on cross-border cases that national prosecutors have difficulty to fight on their own. It should become operational within the next three years. “This office is 20 years in the making and while it is still not a European FBI, this is an important step nonetheless,” anti-corruption campaigners Transparency International said in a statement. EPPO will fight cases over €10k when it comes to the misuse of EU funds, and €10 million in the trans-border VAT fraud. The prosecutor’s reach will be limited to the countries which signed the deal and those that didn’t will have the possibility to join whenever they want.