The European Public Prosecutor's Office conducted 42 active investigations in Slovakia in late 2021, with the total estimated damage in these cases exceeding €80 million, Justice Minister Maria Kolikova reported following her meeting with European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi on Thursday. Of the overall sum, €53.6 million originated from VAT fraud. The minister and the prosecutor discussed mainly the EPPO and the challenges faced by the institution. "I am very happy that [Slovakia] is among the first countries to have fully staffed its posts of European prosecutors and this is also a signal that Slovakia strongly supports this institution," Kolikova said. Kovesi also came to Slovakia to pay a visit to local European prosecutors. "We had very constructive and open meetings. We discussed common problems we encounter in our work. We also identified some problems that we need to address with national authorities," she said, explaining that these include, for instance, the integration of specialised police investigators into the EPPO structure. Meanwhile, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka and his first deputy Jozef Kandera also met Kovesi. The meeting was joined by Slovak European prosecutor Juraj Novocky. As the PG Office’s spokesman Dalibor Skladan informed, they discussed the functioning of the EPPO so far, practical problems, as well as issues with the application practice related to the implementation of regulations concerning the first phase of EPPO's full functionality. Kovesi thanked Zilinka for his assistance in ensuring that EPPO becomes operational in its inception. "Zilinka assured Chief European Prosecutor Laura Kovesi of his support for the further operation of the EPPO, which is among his priorities," the spokesman added.
During her multi-day visit to Slovakia, the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office should also meet Interior Minister Roman Mikulec as well as representatives of the Special Prosecutor's Office, Police Corps Presidium and other institutions.
Source: TASR
