Author: Miriam Testa
Committee: Eu Institutions Committee
Date: 22/12/2024
On the 28th of November 2024, the European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Codruța Kövesi, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, signed a working arrangement to strengthen the cooperation between the two institutions.
The working arrangement establishes the following procedures:
1. the exchange of information between the EP and the EPPO;
2. the procedures to the EPPO’s request for the waiver of immunity of the EP’s Members and staff;
3. the treatment of the requests for the waiver of inviolability of the EP’ premises, building and archives.
In order to achieve the purposes of the working arrangement, the contact points are: the European Chief Prosecutor (for the EPPO), and the President of the European Parliament (for the EP). In case of particular matters, the EP and the EPPO may designate an ad-hoc person.
The working arrangement can be found here.
Purpose and scope of the arrangement
| European Public Prosecutor’s
Office |
European Parliament | |
| Exchange of information | The EPPO will inform the
Parliament of its ongoing and closed investigations, in order to enable the EP to take appropriate measures or intervene as a civil party in procedures. |
The President or the
Secretary General of the EP will, without delay, inform the EPPO of any criminal conduct in respect of which it could exercise its competence. |
Waiver of immunity
If the immunity is an obstacle for the EPPO’s investigation, the EPPO shall send a written request to:
– the President of the EP for the waiver of the immunity of a Member of the EP;
– the Secretary General of the EP for the waiver of the immunity of an official or other servant of the EP.
The EPPO may determine that the person whose immunity is requested to be waived cannot be informed or heard. In this case, the EPPO will specify the ground for not hearing or informing the person concerned.
As it was reported on the STEPPO’s website, in a blog written already in 2022 the EPPO
requested the waiver of immunity of two Members of the European Parliament for the investigations of the so called Waiver of inviolability
If the EPPO’s investigation requires the access to premises, buildings, and archives of the EP, that are protected by the “Protocol of the privileges and immunities” of the European Union, the EPPO shall send a written request to the President of the EP for the waiver of inviolability.
The EPPO shall inform the Secretary General at least 48 hours in advance of the date on which they intend to access the premises, building, or archives of the EU, unless urgent measures are required.
Legal basis
Based on Article 99 of the European Regulation 2017/1939, the EPPO may establish and maintain relations, and conclude working arrangements with the EU institutions bodies, to strengthen the cooperation and exchange information.
Based on Article 103 of the European Regulation 2017/1939, the EPPO shall provide the institution, body, office, or agency of the Union and other victims concerned sufficient information in order to allow them to take appropriate administrative or precautionary measures and to enable them to intervene as a civil party of the procedure.
¹: the full text of the STEPPO’s blog can be found here