LUXEMBURG, 11/11/2020. – The College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) appointed today two Deputy European Chief Prosecutors: Danilo Ceccarelli from Italy and Andrés Ritter from Germany. This is another important step on the path for the EPPO to become operational.
Based on a proposal by the European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kӧvesi, the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors were elected by secret ballot from among the 22 European Prosecutors who, together with the European Chief Prosecutor, form the College of the EPPO. The European Chief Prosecutor can assign and delegate each of her Deputies specific tasks and responsibilities, and they can replace her in her absence. The Deputy European Chief Prosecutors are appointed for 3 years.
As a reaction to his appointment, Danilo Ceccarelli commented: “As a Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, I will transfer my long-term practice as a national and international prosecutor to the benefit of the EPPO. My experiences in domestic and international multi-cultural environments, investigating and organising complex cases and large-scale operations, will be of significant support to our operational activity. I will do everything in my power to sustain the independence of the EPPO, a value that must be protected and practiced at every level – centralised and decentralised – and at every stage.”
Andrés Ritter added: “I firmly believe that EPPO will be a cornerstone in the fight against fraud and corruption in the European Union. Thus, it is an honor and a privilege for me to shape this mission as Deputy European Chief Prosecutor together with the European Chief Prosecutor and the whole College. Now that EPPO has finally become a reality, I feel encouraged by the growing awareness that it needs to be adequately equipped to fulfil the promise to the citizens of Europe from day one. We are eager to deliver and there is no such thing as gradual protection when it comes to fraud and corruption.”
Who are they?
Andrés Ritter (56) joined the Prosecution Service in Germany in 1995 and served at different prosecution offices before he became Deputy Prosecutor General in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2008. From 2010 on, he headed various public prosecution offices, most recently from 2013 to 2020 being Chief Prosecutor at the specialized Public Prosecution Office for Economic Crime and Cybercrime in Rostock. He is a German representative at the International Association of Judges that is committed worldwide to judicial independence and is a member of the Study Commission on Criminal Law.
Danilo Ceccarelli (53) is an Italian magistrate since 1995 and has always worked as a prosecutor specialised in financial crime, tax fraud, corruption, organised crime and money laundering. From 2013 to 2018, he was an International Prosecutor with the EU Mission EULEX in Kosovo. From 2018 to July 2020, he was a prosecutor in Milan, in the Department for transnational financial crime and corruption, and international cooperation. He was a member of the Italian FATF working group and delegation and was a co-leader of the FATF’s project on Asset Recovery.