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To state the CoR general political position, in the first stage of the legislative procedure of consent, on the principle of establishing a European Public Prosecutor and on the modalities proposed by the European Commission for this establishment.
Eventually, once the Council issues its text or if an enhanced cooperation is proposed, to supplement or revise the initial position.

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- welcomes the Commission's proposal to create an independent institution to prosecute cross-border offences against the financial interests of the Union that involve more than one Member State, since the Union would no longer depend exclusively on national law enforcement agencies;

- underlines the importance to local and regional authorities in particular of effectively protecting the Union's financial interests, since a significant proportion of such offences are connected to the use of Structural Funds, and targeted and efficient deployment of European aid invested in local and regional authorities is vital;

- reminds the Commission that it has a fundamental obligation to justify its proposals for legislative acts as regards subsidiarity and proportionality; therefore calls on the Commission to provide the requisite, detailed grounds in good time and to ensure they are accessible to all parties involved in the procedure;

- points out that in its Communication the Commission does not adequately consider the sub-national dimension when assessing the sufficiency of Member State action, whereas the principle of subsidiarity as enshrined in Article 5 (3) of the Treaty on European Union differentiates between the central, regional and local levels; therefore urges the Commission to take the regional and local dimensions of subsidiarity adequately into account in future;

- notes that the added value of establishing a European Public Prosecutor's Office would be greatest if all Member States take part rather than only some, since the financial interests of the Union must be protected in all Member States without exception; regrets therefore that the establishment of an EPPO through enhanced cooperation could entail significantly higher costs for Member States;

- recommends amending the proposal so that each Member State should have at least one national/regional member at the seat of the EPPO and welcomes the fact that experienced national/regional European Delegated Prosecutors with an understanding of local conditions and circumstances will be given responsibility for prosecuting complex cases;

- recommends setting out the criminal offences that are to fall within the remit of the European Public Prosecutor's Office in an annex to the proposal for the sake of legal and procedural clarity;

- feels that the proposal to give the European Public Prosecutor's Office exclusive responsibility for prosecuting offences against the interests of the Union goes too far;

- underlines the need to maintain constitutional standards and safeguard the fundamental rights and existing national rights of the parties to any prosecution as part of procedural arrangements;

- feels that it is imperative that rules be laid down to ensure that information and personal data from the criminal proceedings of the Member States not be passed on to third states, international organisations or other third parties without express consent of the authorities.