Statement of the European Chief Prosecutor in reply to comment by General Prosecutor of the Slovak Republic

Today, the General Prosecutor of the Slovak Republic Mr Maroš Žilinka made a public comment in which he attempted to downplay my concerns relating to recent legislative amendments proposed by the Slovak government concerning the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Code, the Act on the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Act on the Protection of Whistle-blowers. In his comment, the General Prosecutor indicated that two years and a half after the start of EPPO operations, six European Delegated Prosecutors managed to make “altogether five indictments” in Slovakia.

I have always been in favour of an open and frank institutional dialogue. However, I have never considered social media as the appropriate channel for it. I remain available to the General Prosecutor of the Slovak Republic for any clarification on the activities of the EPPO. For instance, I would be able to explain to him that serious financial criminality being transnational by nature, the work of European Delegated Prosecutors in Slovakia is not limited to cases that they bring to court in Slovakia. Their work is of crucial importance for many investigations directed by EPPO from other Member States. We work as a single office in 22 Member States, which constitute the ‘EPPO zone’. This is why Slovakia becoming a weak link would put at stake the integrity of the whole EPPO zone.

I am looking forward to the next opportunity for an open and frank institutional exchange of views with the General Prosecutor of the Slovak republic. On such an occasion, I would try to understand his position on the effect that the combination of all the recently proposed legislative changes will have on the overall efficiency of the fight against financial crime and corruption in Slovakia. As a former General Prosecutor myself, I hope that we will agree on the particular gravity of this pervasive criminal phenomenon and on the necessity to fight it with utmost determination. In the meantime, I can only recommend him to read the soon to be published Annual report of the EPPO, which will give a rather detailed account of our general activities in 2023.