5 Amendments of Saskia BRICMONT related to 2024/2029(DEC)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that, compared with 2022, the caseload of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) almost doubled in 2023, reaching up to 1 927 active investigations; commends the fruitful activities of the EPPO in 2023, which included 139 indictments, 339 VAT- related cases, 140 European Delegated Prosecutors in active employment and over 200 investigations on the implementation of NextGenerationEU; further notes that the EPPO started to bring more perpetrators of EU fraud to judgment in front of national courts;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Stresses that according to the Court, the 206 active investigations related to RRF funds estimated potential damages of over €1.8 billion; highlights that these investigations concern 10 Member States, with around 75% of these cases coming from Italy; shares the Court’s view that the figures presented by the EPPO confirm that the risk of fraud is present in the RRF and that they call into question the reliability of Member State management declarations in terms of reporting detected fraud and the remedial measures taken;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Commends the close cooperation between the EPPO and the Court, particularly in detecting any suspicions of criminal offences falling within its competence and involving participating Member States; reminds that such suspicions may arise either from audit work by the Court or from information reported to the Court directly by third parties;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the increase in appropriations for the EPPO’s budget in 2023, amounting to EUR 64,6 million in total, which allowed for an 11 % increase in staff in that year; acknowledges that the acceleration of the disbursement of NextGenerationEU funding and therapid increase in the EPPO’s membership ares’ workload is projected to put further strain on the EPPO’s resources; underlines the importance of additional funding for the EPPO’s budget in order for it to have the necessary means to carry out its tasks;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises the important role of the EPPO in the Union approach to combating corruption and the misuse of Union funds; expresses its satisfaction that 24 Member States participate in the EPPO and encourages the three remaining Member States, namely Hungary, Ireland and Denmark, to do so as well; calls on the Commission to closely monitor Member States’ level of cooperation with the EPPO in subsequent reports and to continue engaging in an active dialogue with non-participating Member States to effectively facilitate the EPPO in carrying out its tasks; emphasises the fact that such a dialogue could also be of value to Member States that already participate in the EPPO as regards tackling difficulties in fighting rule of law violations and corruption; reiterates, however, the EP calls that membership of the EPPO should be a precondition for receiving EU funds and the need for an expansion of the mandate of the EPPO;