Hungary joins European Public Prosecutor's Office

The European Commission has adopted a decision confirming Hungary’s accession to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the EU body announced on Friday. Prime Minister Péter Magyar also announced the news on Facebook.

According to the Commission’s statement,

the EPPO will be competent to investigate and prosecute crimes involving EU funds committed in Hungary after 1 June 2021 retroactively, when the body started its operations.

Commenting on the news, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:

"Today brings good news for Hungary. This is a welcome step in the fight against fraud and corruption. The people of Hungary will now have a safeguard in place to ensure EU funds work in their interest. Hungary, welcome to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office".

Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier emphasized that with this accession, “Hungary will have a permanent body to protect EU funds from financial crime. Today’s decision means a stronger Europe and a stronger Hungary.”

What happens next?

According to the Commission’s communication, today’s decision will take effect twenty days after it is published in the Official Journal of the EU. The Hungarian authorities will need to propose three candidates, and the Council of the EU will appoint one of them as Hungary’s representative to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; with the final decision being made by an independent committee following a hearing. Twenty days after the Council’s nomination, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office may begin its work in Hungary.

The Hungarian authorities must take all necessary steps to ensure that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is fully operational in Hungary, including providing the appropriate financial and human resources.

In response to a question from Euronews, Mercier pointed out that the Hungarian legislators may still need to do some work to bring national legislation into line with the EU regulation establishing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. He confirmed that the Hungarian government had requested the retroactive effect starting in June 2021.

Magyar previously estimated that the EPPO could begin work in Hungary next year

In late May, Prime Minister Péter Magyar personally submitted the request to Ursula von der Leyen. It was during the same visit that they agreed on the release of 16.4 billion euros in frozen funds to Hungary, but joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is not officially part of the conditions.

Following the submission of the accession request, Péter Magyar indicated that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office could begin operations in Hungary as early as the beginning of 2027. In May, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi said that, should the Office establish a presence in Hungary, they would open an independent office headed by a European prosecutor who would be independent of both Hungarian and EU politics. Actual investigations would be conducted by prosecutors active in Hungary—selected based on specific criteria—in accordance with Hungarian law, in cooperation with the Hungarian police and authorities.

Every EU member state without a judicial opt-out will now be a member of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The previous Hungarian government—backed by a two-thirds majority—cited sovereignty and the constitutional order, as well as the countries that remained outside the EPPO as a reason for not wanting to join. By now, Denmark—which has not joined on account of its Justice-and Home Affairs opt-out—essentially remains the only country not part of the organization. Hungary is the 25th of the 27 member states to join. (Jim O-Callaghan, the Minister of the Interior of the other holdout, Ireland—which has a similar exemption—confirmed just a few days ago that the legislation allowing them to participate in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is expected to be finalized by 2027.)

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office was established through enhanced cooperation tailored to a smaller group of member states, in which participation is optional and not mandatory. Friday’s Commission communication pointed out that if all EU countries join such legislation, it will become part of the ‘acquis communautaire’. Since only the two countries that have been granted judicial opt-outs are not included, the same applies to the legislation establishing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.