Author: Florin-Razvan Radu
Committee: Eu institutions Committee
Date: 23/11/2023
On 1 November 2023 entered into force the amendments to the Irish Mutual Legal Assistance Act (2008) that made possible the cooperation in criminal matters between the Republic of Ireland and the EPPO.
The cooperation will be based on a unilateral recognition of the EPPO under the Irish law, and not on relevant Union acts for which the participating Member States have notified the EPPO as their competent authority. However, in practice, the unilateral recognition would allow the Irish authorities to provided mutual legal assistance and freezing of assets in similar way as the assistance provided to Member States’ judicial authorities. It would also allow the establishment of Joint Investigation Teams between the EPPO and the Irish authorities.
As the amendments concerned only MLA in a narrow sense, Ireland is not able to recognize the EPPO as a competent issuing authority for the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision.
Working Arrangement between the EPPO and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 21 November 2023, the EPPO concluded a working arrangement on cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The aim of this arrangement is to facilitate cooperation in criminal matters and exchange of information between the two parties, in order to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of crimes against the European Union budget. It also demonstrates the EPPO’s commitment to working with the competent authorities of EU candidate countries.
With this Working Arrangement, the EPPO has a designated point of contact in the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moreover, the working arrangements acknowledge that the applicable international legal instruments for cooperation in criminal matters between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EPPO are the relevant Council of Europe and United Nations conventions.
Chair: Florin-Razvan Radu, Petr Klement
Member of the Committee: Miriam Testa