Author: Antony Zhilkin
Subcommittee: EU Institutions Subcommittee
Date: 08.07.2023
The news of European Prosecutor Petr Klement’s appointment as Deputy European Chief Prosecutor has been making waves in the legal community. It has been reported that he will be taking up his new role on 29 July 2023, replacing Danilo Ceccarelli at the end of his three-year term. The Steering Committee of the Jean Monnet Module on the EPPO and EU Law is thrilled to congratulate our esteemed colleague and Co-chair of the EU Institutions Subcommittee on this well-deserved promotion. We wish Petr all the best in his new role and look forward to seeing him excel in his new position!
It has been confirmed that he will be joining forces with Andrés Ritter, who was appointed as the Deputy European Chief Prosecutor in November 2020. This position comes with a renewable mandate of three years. As part of their role, the European Chief Prosecutor can assign and delegate specific tasks and responsibilities to each of their two Deputies. In addition, they have the authority to act as a replacement for the Chief Prosecutor in the event of their absence.
Petr Klement has a wealth of experience in the legal field. Before his current role as European Prosecutor, he served as a prosecutor in the Department of Serious Economic and Financial Crime at the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Czech Republic. During that time, he honed his skills in investigating PIF crimes, cybercrime, and combating the financing of terrorism. He also served as a member of the Supervisory Committee of OLAF from January 2017 to August 2020. With his extensive knowledge and background, Petr is well-equipped to tackle the challenging legal issues facing Europe today.
He joined the Czech prosecution service in 2000, and from 2004 worked as a district prosecutor specialised in economic crime. Between 2006 and 2014 he worked at the International Department of the PGO and later headed the Section of Outer Relations. During that time, he was seconded to Eurojust (2007), to North Kosovo within the EU Rule of Law Mission, EULEX (2010–2012) and to the IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) 2010 Project in Tirana, Albania (2013–2014). Klement has run the National Network of Cybercrime Prosecutors and was also the General Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Project at the European Judicial Training Network.
The EPPO serves as the independent public prosecution office of the European Union, with the responsibility of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice crimes against the financial interests of the EU.
Source: eppo.europa.eu