As many as 515 investigations have been launched, and about 150m euros in loot stolen from the legal economy and rescued from the mafia. This is the balance sheet for the first year of European prosecutor Eppo, launched by the EU in June 2021 to improve the fight against organized crime at the cross-border level.
A long-standing gap in which crimes committed between Member States take advantage of the shortcomings of a Europe where there is only one market but justice is still shared among 27 legal systems. As one of its judges, Juraj Novocky, explained at a press conference at the European Parliament, the 150m euros EPPO collected in its first year of operation is just a small drop in the ocean. This is evidenced by the maxi-investigation that led to the liquidation of an organization that last November organized an electronic equipment sales tour between 14 EU countries (including Italy) and managed to defraud national governments about VAT through shell companies. By doing so, he estimated that the states involved in the scam left a 2.2 billion dollar hole in their coffers.
According to Novocky, cross-border crime in Europe is worth 190 billion and to adequately combat it, more cooperation and sharing is needed between various countries, including the introduction of a common procurement database. Sabrina Pignedoli, Member of the European Parliament for M5s, who supported the press conference titled “Facing crime in Europe”, where Eppo data was presented in the European Parliament, also believes this. For Pignedoli, the European prosecutor’s office must urgently address drug trafficking from Northern Europe. Pignedoli emphasized that the profit from this market poses a problem for democracy and the rule of law. “Awareness of the transnationality of mafias and their ability to infiltrate the legitimate economy has finally emerged in the European Union, but that is not enough,” the 5-star reviewer said.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
