In her interview with “P”, Mrs. Kiovesi characterizes as alarming the dimensions that she is taking on financial crime in the EU, which, as he notes, is often directly linked to organized crime.
As far as Cyprus is concerned, he states that there are two categories of cases, with one category relating to fraud related to VAT and the other to fraud in the management of European funds, in particular when related to public procurement cases.
Called at the same time to comment on the ongoingconfrontation between the Prosecutor General and the Auditor General, the European Chief Prosecutor, after clarifying that she does not wish to take a position on this specific case as it is an internal issue of Cyprus, commented that it is normal to have different opinions when it comes to issues of this nature.
Regarding the separation of powers of the Attorney General, Mrs. Kovesi is reported to have focused on the need to preserve the independence of the institution, which must, as she noted, be governed by the correct checks and balances.
In relation to the recommendations of her office to the Cypriot authorities, she stated that there are contacts between the two sides and that EPPO's cooperation with the Legal Service, as well as with other institutions in the country, is being strengthened. p>
He added specifically on the subject ofn sanctions against Russia that the EPPO “is the best tool that Europe has for investigating such cases”, adding that “even if the range of sanctions is expanded, if the sanctions are not applied then problems are created”.
“It is importantto tell the citizens that we are not a 'foreign' institution. We speak the language of all our members. We are not foreigners, we are all Europeans and our goal is to protect European money, the money of European citizens”, he noted regarding the role of the EPPO in general.
Accordingly, in her interview with “K”, Ms. Chiovesi praised the cooperation between the EPPO and Cyprus, as well as the progress she said had been made in recent years on issues of corruption and financial crime, while on the office's work of the total noted that the EU loses €50 billion a year to tax-related crimes.
Furthermore, to a question aboutmalign influence from third countries
strong> on the European democracies, in view of the upcoming European elections, which also includes an economic aspect, the European Attorney General said that the organized disinformation observed within the EU is a challenge, with politicians even involved in cases of fraud, money laundering activities and tax avoidance.
Source: KYPE
