BETA
This is a historical view (2018/01/08)

Changes: 2023/10/19procedure.stage_reached, events

View current state | View Changes for this date

Sorry, but we failed to recreate history before 2022-07-28T22:05:32


2014/0173(COD) Investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF): controller of procedural guarantees

Progress: Awaiting committee decision

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT
Former Responsible Committee CONT
Committee Opinion JURI
Committee Opinion LIBE
Committee Opinion BUDG
Former Committee Opinion LIBE
Former Committee Opinion JURI
Former Committee Opinion BUDG
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 325-p4

Events

2014/12/07
   RO_CHAMBER - Contribution
Documents
2014/10/29
   CZ_SENATE - Contribution
Documents
2014/10/23
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Details

OPINION No 6/2014 concerning a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees.

The Commission proposal, which is the subject of this Opinion, seeks to establish a Controller of procedural guarantees , tasked with two functions:

(a) reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned about alleged violations of the procedural guarantees provided by the OLAF Regulation and issuing non-binding recommendations to the Director-General of OLAF on these complaints;

(b) authorising OLAF to inspect the professional office of a member of an EU institution at the premises of an EU institution during an internal investigation or to take copies of documents or of any data support located in this office.

Under the Commission proposal, the Controller and his substitute would be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and would exercise their functions in complete independence.

Overall, the Court of Auditors considers that the protection of individual rights , and therefore strong procedural guarantees for persons under investigation by OLAF, is of fundamental importance.

Ensuring full respect for individual rights not only enhances OLAF's credentials as an EU body in full consonance with the observance of the rule of law, but is also crucial for the ultimate effectiveness of OLAF investigations.

The amendments proposed by the Court in this Opinion seek to enhance such effectiveness:

Independent control of the legality of OLAF investigations in progress : the Court welcomes the fact that, under the current Commission proposal, the Controller's independence from OLAF would be guaranteed by an interinstitutional process for appointing him and, if necessary, relieving him of his duties.

The Court recommends to further enhance the independence of the Controller . Contrary to what is proposed in the draft regulation, neither the Controller nor his secretariat should be administratively attached to the Commission, nor to any of the other institutions involved in his appointment. Sufficient staff should be assigned to the Controller to carry out his tasks in an effective manner. The appropriations for the Controller and his secretariat should be entered under a specific budget line.

The Controller's scope of intervention in his advisory capacity : the Court recommends that the Controller should be empowered to deal with any alleged violation of the fundamental rights and procedural guarantees provided for under EU law in connection with ongoing OLAF investigations.

In cases where the Office derogates from its obligation to inform a person concerned that an investigation is ongoing, the Director-General should be required to seek the Controller's advice.

Prior authorisation for certain investigative measures by the Controller : the Court recommends that prior written authorisation should always be obtained from the Controller when the Office intends to carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections . It recommends that such prior authorisation should also be required in all cases which can seriously affect the rights of persons concerned and in particular where:

the Director-General of OLAF intends to defer the provision of information to the institution to which the person concerned belongs; OLAF intends to draw up conclusions referring by name to a person concerned before giving that person the opportunity to comment on facts concerning him; the transmission of information about a person concerned to the national judicial authorities is envisaged by OLAF; OLAF intends to prolong an investigation beyond two years.

2014/09/23
   ES_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2014/09/16
   PT_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2014/08/10
   IT_SENATE - Contribution
Documents
2014/07/03
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
2014/06/11
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
2014/06/11
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to strengthen the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Regulation 883/2013 establishing a new legal framework on OLAF investigations entered into force on 1 October 2013. The Regulation brought substantial changes to OLAF's organisation and investigative procedures, in particular as regards reinforcing OLAF's governance and strengthening the procedural guarantees of persons concerned by OLAF investigations. These changes are currently being implemented.

In July 2013, the Commission adopted its proposal on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) which includes a series of Union-level procedural safeguards. Together with that proposal, the Commission adopted a Communication in which it called for a step-by-step approach to accompany the establishment of the EPPO and further measures to strengthen OLAF's governance and enhance procedural safeguards in its investigations, even before the establishment of the EPPO.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the analysis of impacts found that the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions.

CONTENT: the proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. It provides for the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees , who would be tasked with reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned in OLAF investigations about the potential non-respect of their procedural guarantees. The Controller would also be responsible for authorising certain investigative measures related to members of EU institutions.

The Controller and his substitute shall be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for a non-renewable term of five years .

Reviewing complaints : when examining a complaint, the Controller would:

review whether the notice period for inviting persons concerned to an interview was respected, without, however, taking any position on whether and how to conduct this interview; listen to both parties involved before issuing a non-binding recommendation to the Director-General of OLAF.

If the Director-General chooses not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, he should state the reasons for doing so in a note attached to the final investigation report submitted to the national authorities.

Expertise and independence : given the nature of the tasks the Controller will be entrusted with, the position should be held by a person with senior legal expertise in the fields of fundamental rights and criminal law, and eligible to be appointed to judicial office in at least one Member State or in an EU Court. He should be able to perform his duties in complete independence and within the time limits foreseen in this Regulation. The Controller will also be subject to the requirements of Regulation 45/2001 on data protection.

Investigative measures towards members of EU institutions : a new measure is proposed, whereby the Director-General of OLAF must ask for the Controller’s authorisation if OLAF intends to carry out an inspection of the professional offices of these members.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: The budgetary implications of this proposal are mainly related to human resources and administrative expenses. They are estimated at EUR 2.733 million for the period 2015-2020.

Documents

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

committees/1/rapporteur
  • name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
committees/2
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgets
committee
BUDG
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
committees/3
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
committees/4
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgets
committee
BUDG
opinion
False
committees/5
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
committees/6
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgets
committee
BUDG
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
committees/7
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
committees/7
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgets
committee
BUDG
committees/7/rapporteur
  • name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
docs/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Legislative proposal
body
EC
docs/2
date
2014-10-29T00:00:00
docs
url: https://connectfolx.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
CZ_SENATE
docs/3
date
2014-09-23T00:00:00
docs
url: https://connectfolx.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
ES_PARLIAMENT
docs/3
date
2014-10-30T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
CZ_SENATE
docs/4
date
2014-08-10T00:00:00
docs
url: https://connectfolx.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
IT_SENATE
docs/4
date
2014-09-24T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
ES_PARLIAMENT
docs/5
date
2014-09-16T00:00:00
docs
url: https://connectfolx.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
PT_PARLIAMENT
docs/5
date
2014-08-11T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
IT_SENATE
docs/6
date
2014-12-07T00:00:00
docs
url: https://connectfolx.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
RO_CHAMBER
docs/6
date
2014-09-17T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
PT_PARLIAMENT
docs/7
date
2014-12-08T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340
type
Contribution
body
RO_CHAMBER
events/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
type
Legislative proposal published
body
EC
docs
summary
committees/1/rapporteur
  • name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
committees/7/rapporteur
  • name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/1/rapporteur
  • name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
committees/7/rapporteur
  • name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
docs/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Legislative proposal
body
EC
events/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
type
Legislative proposal published
body
EC
docs
summary
events/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
type
Legislative proposal published
body
EC
docs
summary
events/0
date
2014-06-11T00:00:00
type
Legislative proposal published
body
EC
docs
summary
events/1/type
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
committees/1
type
Former Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
committees/1
type
Former Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: ??? abbr: Unknown Group
committees/7
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/7
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: ??? abbr: Unknown Group
committees/1
type
Former Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: ??? abbr: Unknown Group
committees/1
type
Former Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
committees/7
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: ??? abbr: Unknown Group
committees/7
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/7/rapporteur/0/mepref
23868
committees/2/opinion
False
committees/0/date
    committees/1
    type
    Former Responsible Committee
    body
    EP
    associated
    False
    committee_full
    Budgetary Control
    committee
    CONT
    rapporteur
    name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
    committees/1
    type
    Former Responsible Committee
    body
    EP
    associated
    False
    committee_full
    Budgetary Control
    committee
    CONT
    date
    2014-09-29T00:00:00
    rapporteur
    name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
    committees/2/date
      committees/3/date
        committees/4/date
          committees/5/date
            committees/6/date
              committees/7
              type
              Former Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
              committee
              LIBE
              rapporteur
              name: BEŇOVÁ Monika date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
              committees/7
              type
              Former Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
              committee
              LIBE
              date
              2014-09-03T00:00:00
              rapporteur
              name: BEŇOVÁ Monika group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
              activities
              • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014&nu_doc=0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Legislative proposal published celexid: CELEX:52014PC0340:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/european-anti-fraud-office_en title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas type: Legislative proposal published
              • date: 2014-07-03T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés group: ECR name: CZARNECKI Ryszard group: ALDE name: TAKKULA Hannu group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis group: Verts/ALE name: STAES Bart group: EFD name: VALLI Marco responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2014-09-29T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: EPP name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI body: EP responsible: False committee: LIBE date: 2014-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: S&D name: BEŇOVÁ Monika
              commission
              • body: EC dg: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              committees/0
              type
              Responsible Committee
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Budgetary Control
              committee
              CONT
              date
              committees/0
              body
              EP
              responsible
              False
              committee_full
              Budgets
              committee
              BUDG
              committees/1
              type
              Former Responsible Committee
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Budgetary Control
              committee
              CONT
              date
              2014-09-29T00:00:00
              rapporteur
              name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
              committees/1
              body
              EP
              shadows
              responsible
              True
              committee
              CONT
              date
              2014-09-29T00:00:00
              committee_full
              Budgetary Control
              rapporteur
              group: EPP name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg
              committees/2
              type
              Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Budgets
              committee
              BUDG
              date
              committees/2
              body
              EP
              responsible
              False
              committee_full
              Legal Affairs
              committee
              JURI
              committees/3
              type
              Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Legal Affairs
              committee
              JURI
              date
              committees/3
              body
              EP
              responsible
              False
              committee
              LIBE
              date
              2014-09-03T00:00:00
              committee_full
              Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
              rapporteur
              group: S&D name: BEŇOVÁ Monika
              committees/4
              type
              Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
              committee
              LIBE
              date
              committees/5
              type
              Former Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Budgets
              committee
              BUDG
              date
              committees/6
              type
              Former Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Legal Affairs
              committee
              JURI
              date
              committees/7
              type
              Former Committee Opinion
              body
              EP
              associated
              False
              committee_full
              Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
              committee
              LIBE
              date
              2014-09-03T00:00:00
              rapporteur
              name: BEŇOVÁ Monika group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
              docs
              • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SWD:2014:0183:FIN:EN:PDF title: EUR-Lex title: SWD(2014)0183 type: Document attached to the procedure body: EC
              • date: 2014-10-23T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2014:419:TOC title: OJ C 419 21.11.2014, p. 0001 title: N8-0067/2014 summary: OPINION No 6/2014 concerning a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. The Commission proposal, which is the subject of this Opinion, seeks to establish a Controller of procedural guarantees , tasked with two functions: (a) reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned about alleged violations of the procedural guarantees provided by the OLAF Regulation and issuing non-binding recommendations to the Director-General of OLAF on these complaints; (b) authorising OLAF to inspect the professional office of a member of an EU institution at the premises of an EU institution during an internal investigation or to take copies of documents or of any data support located in this office. Under the Commission proposal, the Controller and his substitute would be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and would exercise their functions in complete independence. Overall, the Court of Auditors considers that the protection of individual rights , and therefore strong procedural guarantees for persons under investigation by OLAF, is of fundamental importance. Ensuring full respect for individual rights not only enhances OLAF's credentials as an EU body in full consonance with the observance of the rule of law, but is also crucial for the ultimate effectiveness of OLAF investigations. The amendments proposed by the Court in this Opinion seek to enhance such effectiveness: Independent control of the legality of OLAF investigations in progress : the Court welcomes the fact that, under the current Commission proposal, the Controller's independence from OLAF would be guaranteed by an interinstitutional process for appointing him and, if necessary, relieving him of his duties. The Court recommends to further enhance the independence of the Controller . Contrary to what is proposed in the draft regulation, neither the Controller nor his secretariat should be administratively attached to the Commission, nor to any of the other institutions involved in his appointment. Sufficient staff should be assigned to the Controller to carry out his tasks in an effective manner. The appropriations for the Controller and his secretariat should be entered under a specific budget line. The Controller's scope of intervention in his advisory capacity : the Court recommends that the Controller should be empowered to deal with any alleged violation of the fundamental rights and procedural guarantees provided for under EU law in connection with ongoing OLAF investigations. In cases where the Office derogates from its obligation to inform a person concerned that an investigation is ongoing, the Director-General should be required to seek the Controller's advice. Prior authorisation for certain investigative measures by the Controller : the Court recommends that prior written authorisation should always be obtained from the Controller when the Office intends to carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections . It recommends that such prior authorisation should also be required in all cases which can seriously affect the rights of persons concerned and in particular where: the Director-General of OLAF intends to defer the provision of information to the institution to which the person concerned belongs; OLAF intends to draw up conclusions referring by name to a person concerned before giving that person the opportunity to comment on facts concerning him; the transmission of information about a person concerned to the national judicial authorities is envisaged by OLAF; OLAF intends to prolong an investigation beyond two years. type: Court of Auditors: opinion, report body: CofA
              • date: 2014-10-30T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Contribution body: CZ_SENATE
              • date: 2014-09-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Contribution body: ES_PARLIAMENT
              • date: 2014-08-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Contribution body: IT_SENATE
              • date: 2014-09-17T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Contribution body: PT_PARLIAMENT
              • date: 2014-12-08T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2014)0340 title: COM(2014)0340 type: Contribution body: RO_CHAMBER
              events
              • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014&nu_doc=0340 title: EUR-Lex title: COM(2014)0340 summary: PURPOSE: to strengthen the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Regulation 883/2013 establishing a new legal framework on OLAF investigations entered into force on 1 October 2013. The Regulation brought substantial changes to OLAF's organisation and investigative procedures, in particular as regards reinforcing OLAF's governance and strengthening the procedural guarantees of persons concerned by OLAF investigations. These changes are currently being implemented. In July 2013, the Commission adopted its proposal on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) which includes a series of Union-level procedural safeguards. Together with that proposal, the Commission adopted a Communication in which it called for a step-by-step approach to accompany the establishment of the EPPO and further measures to strengthen OLAF's governance and enhance procedural safeguards in its investigations, even before the establishment of the EPPO. IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the analysis of impacts found that the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions. CONTENT: the proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. It provides for the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees , who would be tasked with reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned in OLAF investigations about the potential non-respect of their procedural guarantees. The Controller would also be responsible for authorising certain investigative measures related to members of EU institutions. The Controller and his substitute shall be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for a non-renewable term of five years . Reviewing complaints : when examining a complaint, the Controller would: review whether the notice period for inviting persons concerned to an interview was respected, without, however, taking any position on whether and how to conduct this interview; listen to both parties involved before issuing a non-binding recommendation to the Director-General of OLAF. If the Director-General chooses not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, he should state the reasons for doing so in a note attached to the final investigation report submitted to the national authorities. Expertise and independence : given the nature of the tasks the Controller will be entrusted with, the position should be held by a person with senior legal expertise in the fields of fundamental rights and criminal law, and eligible to be appointed to judicial office in at least one Member State or in an EU Court. He should be able to perform his duties in complete independence and within the time limits foreseen in this Regulation. The Controller will also be subject to the requirements of Regulation 45/2001 on data protection. Investigative measures towards members of EU institutions : a new measure is proposed, whereby the Director-General of OLAF must ask for the Controller’s authorisation if OLAF intends to carry out an inspection of the professional offices of these members. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: The budgetary implications of this proposal are mainly related to human resources and administrative expenses. They are estimated at EUR 2.733 million for the period 2015-2020.
              • date: 2014-07-03T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
              other
              • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/european-anti-fraud-office_en title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              otherinst
              • name: European Court of Auditors
              procedure/Mandatory consultation of other institutions
              European Court of Auditors
              procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
              Old
              CONT/8/00577
              New
              • CONT/9/00096
              procedure/instrument
              Old
              Regulation
              New
              • Regulation
              • Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 2006/0084(COD)
              procedure/other_consulted_institutions
              European Court of Auditors
              procedure/subject
              Old
              • 8.70.04 Protecting financial interests of the EU against fraud
              New
              8.70.04
              Protecting financial interests of the EU against fraud
              procedure/summary
              • Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013
              activities/1/committees/3/rapporteur/0/mepref
              4f1ac802b819f25efd0000c0
              activities/1/committees/3/rapporteur/0/name
              Old
              FLAŠÍKOVÁ BEŇOVÁ Monika
              New
              BEŇOVÁ Monika
              committees/3/rapporteur/0/mepref
              4f1ac802b819f25efd0000c0
              committees/3/rapporteur/0/name
              Old
              FLAŠÍKOVÁ BEŇOVÁ Monika
              New
              BEŇOVÁ Monika
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              activities/1/committees/3/rapporteur/0/mepref
              4f1ac802b819f25efd0000c0
              committees/3/rapporteur/0/mepref
              4f1ac802b819f25efd0000c0
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              New
              4f1adbcab819f207b30000e5
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              THEURER Michael
              New
              TAKKULA Hannu
              committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              New
              4f1adbcab819f207b30000e5
              committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              THEURER Michael
              New
              TAKKULA Hannu
              activities/0/commission/0/DG/url
              Old
              http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/
              New
              http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/european-anti-fraud-office_en
              other/0/dg/url
              Old
              http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/
              New
              http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/european-anti-fraud-office_en
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/4
              group
              Verts/ALE
              name
              STAES Bart
              committees/1/shadows/4
              group
              Verts/ALE
              name
              STAES Bart
              activities/0
              date
              2014-06-11T00:00:00
              docs
              url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014&nu_doc=0340 celexid: CELEX:52014PC0340:EN type: Legislative proposal published title: COM(2014)0340
              body
              EC
              type
              Legislative proposal published
              commission
              DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/ title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              procedure/Mandatory consultation of other institutions
              European Court of Auditors
              activities/0
              date
              2014-06-11T00:00:00
              docs
              url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014&nu_doc=0340 celexid: CELEX:52014PC0340:EN type: Legislative proposal published title: COM(2014)0340
              type
              Legislative proposal published
              body
              EC
              commission
              DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/ title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              procedure/Mandatory consultation of other institutions
              European Court of Auditors
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              51ec2b0eb819f26b6e000015
              New
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              ALI Nedzhmi
              New
              THEURER Michael
              committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              51ec2b0eb819f26b6e000015
              New
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              ALI Nedzhmi
              New
              THEURER Michael
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              New
              51ec2b0eb819f26b6e000015
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              THEURER Michael
              New
              ALI Nedzhmi
              committees/1/shadows/2/mepref
              Old
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              New
              51ec2b0eb819f26b6e000015
              committees/1/shadows/2/name
              Old
              THEURER Michael
              New
              ALI Nedzhmi
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              activities/0/docs/0/celexid
              CELEX:52014PC0340:EN
              links/European Commission/title
              Old
              PreLex
              New
              EUR-Lex
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/0
              group
              S&D
              name
              AYALA SENDER Inés
              committees/1/shadows/0
              group
              S&D
              name
              AYALA SENDER Inés
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/1/group
              Old
              NI
              New
              ALDE
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/1/mepref
              Old
              53b2d70eb819f205b0000008
              New
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/1/name
              Old
              ALIOT Louis
              New
              THEURER Michael
              committees/1/shadows/1/group
              Old
              NI
              New
              ALDE
              committees/1/shadows/1/mepref
              Old
              53b2d70eb819f205b0000008
              New
              4f1adbe7b819f207b30000ee
              committees/1/shadows/1/name
              Old
              ALIOT Louis
              New
              THEURER Michael
              procedure/title
              Old
              Investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Offfice (OLAF): controller of procedural guarantees
              New
              Investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF): controller of procedural guarantees
              activities/1/committees/1/shadows/0
              group
              ECR
              name
              CZARNECKI Ryszard
              committees/1/shadows/0
              group
              ECR
              name
              CZARNECKI Ryszard
              activities/0/docs/0/text/0
              Old

              PURPOSE: to strengthen the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

              PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

              ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

              BACKGROUND: Regulation 883/2013 establishing a new legal framework on OLAF investigations entered into force on 1 October 2013. The Regulation brought substantial changes to OLAF's organisation and investigative procedures, in particular as regards reinforcing OLAF's governance and strengthening the procedural guarantees of persons concerned by OLAF investigations. These changes are currently being implemented.

              In July 2013, the Commission adopted its proposal on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) which includes a series of Union-level procedural safeguards. Together with that proposal, the Commission adopted a Communication in which it called for a step-by-step approach to accompany the establishment of the EPPO and further measures to strengthen OLAF's governance and enhance procedural safeguards in its investigations, even before the establishment of the EPPO.

              IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the analysis of impacts found that the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions.

              CONTENT: the proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. It provides for the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees, who would be tasked with reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned in OLAF investigations about the potential non-respect of their procedural guarantees. The Controller would also be responsible for authorising certain investigative measures related to members of EU institutions.

              The Controller and his substitute shall be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for a non-renewable term of five years.

              Reviewing complaints: when examining a complaint, the Controller would:

              • review whether the notice period for inviting persons concerned to an interview was respected, without, however, taking any position on whether and how to conduct this interview;
              • listen to both parties involved before issuing a non-binding recommendation to the Director-General of OLAF.

              If the Director-General chooses not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, he should state the reasons for doing so in a note attached to the final investigation report submitted to the national authorities.

              Expertise and independence: given the nature of the tasks the Controller will be entrusted with, the position should be held by a person with senior legal expertise in the fields of fundamental rights and criminal law, and eligible to be appointed to judicial office in at least one Member State or in an EU Court. He should be able to perform his duties in complete independence and within the time limits foreseen in this Regulation. The Controller will also be subject to the requirements of Regulation 45/2001 on data protection.

              Investigative measures towards members of EU institutions: a new measure is proposed, whereby the Director-General of OLAF must ask for the Controller’s authorisation if OLAF intends to carry out an inspection of the professional offices of these members.

              BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: The budgetary implications of this proposal are mainly related to human resources and administrative expenses. They are estimated at EUR 2.733 million for the period 2015-2020.

              New

              PURPOSE: to strengthen the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

              PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

              ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

              BACKGROUND: Regulation 883/2013 establishing a new legal framework on OLAF investigations entered into force on 1 October 2013. The Regulation brought substantial changes to OLAF's organisation and investigative procedures, in particular as regards reinforcing OLAF's governance and strengthening the procedural guarantees of persons concerned by OLAF investigations. These changes are currently being implemented.

              In July 2013, the Commission adopted its proposal on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) which includes a series of Union-level procedural safeguards. Together with that proposal, the Commission adopted a Communication in which it called for a step-by-step approach to accompany the establishment of the EPPO and further measures to strengthen OLAF's governance and enhance procedural safeguards in its investigations, even before the establishment of the EPPO.

              IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the analysis of impacts found that the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions.

              CONTENT: the proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. It provides for the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees, who would be tasked with reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned in OLAF investigations about the potential non-respect of their procedural guarantees. The Controller would also be responsible for authorising certain investigative measures related to members of EU institutions.

              The Controller and his substitute shall be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for a non-renewable term of five years.

              Reviewing complaints: when examining a complaint, the Controller would:

              • review whether the notice period for inviting persons concerned to an interview was respected, without, however, taking any position on whether and how to conduct this interview;
              • listen to both parties involved before issuing a non-binding recommendation to the Director-General of OLAF.

              If the Director-General chooses not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, he should state the reasons for doing so in a note attached to the final investigation report submitted to the national authorities.

              Expertise and independence: given the nature of the tasks the Controller will be entrusted with, the position should be held by a person with senior legal expertise in the fields of fundamental rights and criminal law, and eligible to be appointed to judicial office in at least one Member State or in an EU Court. He should be able to perform his duties in complete independence and within the time limits foreseen in this Regulation. The Controller will also be subject to the requirements of Regulation 45/2001 on data protection.

              Investigative measures towards members of EU institutions: a new measure is proposed, whereby the Director-General of OLAF must ask for the Controller’s authorisation if OLAF intends to carry out an inspection of the professional offices of these members.

              BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: The budgetary implications of this proposal are mainly related to human resources and administrative expenses. They are estimated at EUR 2.733 million for the period 2015-2020.

              activities/1/committees/1/shadows
              • group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis
              • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
              • group: NI name: ALIOT Louis
              committees/1/shadows
              • group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis
              • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
              • group: NI name: ALIOT Louis
              activities/1/committees/3/date
              2014-09-03T00:00:00
              activities/1/committees/3/rapporteur
              • group: S&D name: FLAŠÍKOVÁ BEŇOVÁ Monika
              committees/3/date
              2014-09-03T00:00:00
              committees/3/rapporteur
              • group: S&D name: FLAŠÍKOVÁ BEŇOVÁ Monika
              activities/1/committees/1/date
              2014-09-29T00:00:00
              activities/1/committees/1/rapporteur
              • group: EPP name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg
              committees/1/date
              2014-09-29T00:00:00
              committees/1/rapporteur
              • group: EPP name: GRÄSSLE Ingeborg
              activities/0/docs/0/text
              • PURPOSE: to strengthen the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

                PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

                ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

                BACKGROUND: Regulation 883/2013 establishing a new legal framework on OLAF investigations entered into force on 1 October 2013. The Regulation brought substantial changes to OLAF's organisation and investigative procedures, in particular as regards reinforcing OLAF's governance and strengthening the procedural guarantees of persons concerned by OLAF investigations. These changes are currently being implemented.

                In July 2013, the Commission adopted its proposal on the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) which includes a series of Union-level procedural safeguards. Together with that proposal, the Commission adopted a Communication in which it called for a step-by-step approach to accompany the establishment of the EPPO and further measures to strengthen OLAF's governance and enhance procedural safeguards in its investigations, even before the establishment of the EPPO.

                IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the analysis of impacts found that the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions.

                CONTENT: the proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. It provides for the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees, who would be tasked with reviewing complaints lodged by persons concerned in OLAF investigations about the potential non-respect of their procedural guarantees. The Controller would also be responsible for authorising certain investigative measures related to members of EU institutions.

                The Controller and his substitute shall be appointed by common accord of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for a non-renewable term of five years.

                Reviewing complaints: when examining a complaint, the Controller would:

                • review whether the notice period for inviting persons concerned to an interview was respected, without, however, taking any position on whether and how to conduct this interview;
                • listen to both parties involved before issuing a non-binding recommendation to the Director-General of OLAF.

                If the Director-General chooses not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, he should state the reasons for doing so in a note attached to the final investigation report submitted to the national authorities.

                Expertise and independence: given the nature of the tasks the Controller will be entrusted with, the position should be held by a person with senior legal expertise in the fields of fundamental rights and criminal law, and eligible to be appointed to judicial office in at least one Member State or in an EU Court. He should be able to perform his duties in complete independence and within the time limits foreseen in this Regulation. The Controller will also be subject to the requirements of Regulation 45/2001 on data protection.

                Investigative measures towards members of EU institutions: a new measure is proposed, whereby the Director-General of OLAF must ask for the Controller’s authorisation if OLAF intends to carry out an inspection of the professional offices of these members.

                BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: The budgetary implications of this proposal are mainly related to human resources and administrative expenses. They are estimated at EUR 2.733 million for the period 2015-2020.

              activities/0/docs/0/url
              http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014&nu_doc=0340
              activities
              • date: 2014-06-11T00:00:00 docs: celexid: CELEX:52014PC0340:EN type: Legislative proposal published title: COM(2014)0340 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/ title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              • date: 2014-07-03T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Budgetary Control committee: CONT body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
              committees
              • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
              • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Budgetary Control committee: CONT
              • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI
              • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
              links
              European Commission
              other
              • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/olaf/ title: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) commissioner: ŠEMETA Algirdas
              procedure
              dossier_of_the_committee
              CONT/8/00577
              Mandatory consultation of other institutions
              European Court of Auditors
              reference
              2014/0173(COD)
              instrument
              Regulation
              legal_basis
              Treaty on the Functioning of the EU TFEU 325-p4
              stage_reached
              Awaiting committee decision
              summary
              Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013
              subtype
              Legislation
              title
              Investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Offfice (OLAF): controller of procedural guarantees
              type
              COD - Ordinary legislative procedure (ex-codecision procedure)
              subject
              8.70.04 Protecting financial interests of the EU against fraud