1^st event | Opening Conference

1^st March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

Launch of the activities of the EPPO, and the contribution of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza)

Participants: Costanza Honorati; Benedetta Ubertazzi; Stefano Castellani; Sergio Spadaro; Pietro Suchan; Giuseppe D’Urso; Gaetano Ruta; Giordano E. Baggio.

2^nd event | 1^st lecture

2^nd March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

Why we did (do) need an EU prosecutor

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Giordana Aquilea/Alessandro Marciano.

3^rd event | 2^nd lecture

7^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2135

How enhanced cooperation on the EPPO began, and paid off

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Enrico Traversa; Alejandro Hernández López.

Topic 2 - THE EPPO

4^th event | 3^rd lecture

8^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO’s structure and characteristics

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Alejandro Hernández López; Giordana Aquilea/Alessandro Marciano.

5^th event | 4^th lecture

9^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO’s role and mandate

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Oliviero Mazza.

6^th event | Special Lecture

14^th March 2022 | 14:30-16:30 | aula seminari 2135

The EPPO functioning: a practical overview

Mr. CECCARELLI will hold a special lecture where he will give an overview of the functioning of the EPPO: an opportunity to ask questions directly to the current Italian European Prosecutor.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Danilo Ceccarelli.

Topic 3 - THE EPPO AND NATIONAL AUTHORITIES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

7^th event | 1^st workshop

15^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The interplay between the EPPO and authorities of participating Member States

Challenges for the EPPO’s mandate stem from the relationship between the Office and national prosecutors and enforcement forces in participating Member States.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Enrico Traversa; Antonio Tarasco.

8^th event | 5^th lecture

16^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO working arrangements with authorities of participating Member States: notably, the Italian National Anti-Mafia and Counter Terrorism Directorate (DNAA), and Excise, Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM)

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Federico Casiero De Raho (DNAA) (tbc); Petito Michele (ADM – Ufficio rapporti con l’EPPO).

9^th event | 6^th lecture

21^st March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2135

The EPPO and the authorities of non-participating Member States and third states

Additional challenges for the EPPO’s mandate stem from the relationship between the Office and non-participating Member States, on the one hand, and justice institutions in third countries, on the other. This fragmentation will tend to make the EPPO’s tasks more complex and more difficult to fulfil for cross-border cases that involve suspects from these countries.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Florin Razvan Radu (EPPO – Head of the Legal Services).

Topic 4 - THE EPPO PROGRAMMING 2021–23: HIGHLIGHTS

10^th event | 7^th lecture

22^nd March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO and the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Strategy 2019

The start of the operations of the EPPO should be an important step forward in bringing new impetus to the overall anti-fraud architecture of the Union. The EPPO will endeavour to be actively involved in the main strategic EU initiatives in this area, notably the revised 2019 Commission’s Anti-Fraud Strategy (CAFS).

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi.

11^th event | 8^th lecture

23^rd March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO and the Digitalisation of criminal justice

The operationalisation of the EPPO will equally build on broader EU-level efforts towards the digitalisation of justice, and criminal justice in particular. In December 2020, the European Commission adopted a package of initiatives to modernise the EU justice systems, including the Communication on the Digitalisation of Justice in the EU. The Covid-19 pandemic has given an extra impetus to digitalisation efforts.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Giulio Tagliabue.

12^th event | 2^nd workshop

28^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2135

The EPPO in the global anti-fraud architecture

In the international arena, the EPPO will seek to support and develop synergies with various networks of practitioners relevant to its activities, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN). The EPPO will also pursue closer cooperation with INTERPOL and its Global Focal Point Network on Asset Recovery, as well as with other global initiatives to trace, seize, and return stolen public funds to the country of origin. In the anticorruption field, the EPPO will benefit from the experience of relevant multi-lateral organisations all over the world, within the framework of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Petr Klement.

Topic 5 - THE EPPO, JUDICIAL COOPERATION, AND INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SECURITY

13^th event | 9^th lecture

29^th March 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO and judicial cooperation

The EU’s judicial cooperation unit (Eurojust) supports combating serious organised crime affecting more than 1 EU country.

The European Judicial Network (EJN) promotes judicial cooperation in criminal matters between EU countries.

Together with the EPPO, Eurojust and the EJN are the networks and bodies supporting judicial cooperation.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Pietro Suchan.

14^th event | 10^th lecture

30^th March 2022 | 14:30-16:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO cooperation with Europol, OLAF and Eurojust

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigates fraud against the EU budget, corruption and serious misconduct within the European institutions, and develops anti-fraud policy for the European Commission.

Europol supports the EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organised forms of crime.

To achieve its objectives, the EPPO will need to establish effective cooperation with its key partners. At the EU level, close cooperation with Europol, OLAF and Eurojust in particular remains essential for ensuring that the scope of investigations into offences affecting the Union’s budget is comprehensive, and that the new institutional design for the fight against fraud is fully effective.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Pietro Suchan (tbc).

15^th event | 11^th lecture

4^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2135

The EPPO between EU internal and external security

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Antonio Tanca.

Topic 6 - THE EPPO AND OTHER BODIES JOINING FORCES

16^th event | 12^th lecture

5^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO Working Agreement with the European Commission

The EPPO has signed on 18 June 2021 an agreement with the European Commission. It establishes the modalities of cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the European Commission for the purpose of protecting the financial interests of the EU.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Federica Iorio.

17^th event | 13^th lecture

6^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The EPPO working arrangements with the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and the Italian General Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Auditors (“Procura Generale presso la Corte dei conti”)

The EPPO signed a working arrangement on 3 September 2021 with the ECA. The EPPO and the ECA share a common interest in maximising efficiency in the fight against fraud, corruption and any other criminal damage to the EU’s financial interests, and in avoiding the duplication of effort wherever possible. This arrangement outlines the conditions for the close cooperation by which this can occur, in full respect of the respective mandates of the EPPO and the Court.

The EPPO signed a working arrangement on 13 September 2021 with the Italian General Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Auditors aiming to provide a structured framework for cooperation and to establish and maintain a cooperative relationship between them.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Angelo Canale (Italian General Prosecutor of the Court of Auditors) ed Arturo Iadecola (Italian General Vice-Prosecutor of the Court of Auditors).

18^th event | 14^th lecture

11^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2135

The EPPO and banking supervisory authorities

In the European arena, the EPPO will have to develop links with banking supervisory authorities, which have a long-standing tradition of cooperation with judicial authorities. In the EU supervisory banking authorities play an important role to provide information and where appropriate technical expertise  to national prosecutors. Such role is supported by various provisions in the banking and anti-money laundering EU and national legislative framework. In this context, Banca d’Italia has a long-standing tradition for cooperation with judicial authorities. The presentation will illustrate the grounds for cooperation between supervisory authorities and criminal prosecutors and how such cooperation developed supported by the European legislative framework. It is expected that EPPO will have to establish similar links with supervisory authorities.

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Fabio Recine (tbc).

Topic 7 - THE EPPO PROTECTING EUROPEAN TAXPAYERS’ MONEY FROM CRIMINALS

19^th event | 15^th lecture

12^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

Main EPPO cases and convictions

The EPPO fighting cross-border VAT frauds (dott. Gaetano Ruta).

Case studies to be chosen among the most interesting ones (also from the didactic point of view).

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Gaetano Ruta; Giacomo Bermone.

20^th event | 16^th lecture

13^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

Main EPPO cases

Case studies to be chosen among the most interesting ones (also from the didactic point of view) participated by the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza).

Participants: Benedetta Ubertazzi; Giuseppe D’Urso.

21^st event | Closing Roundtable

20^th April 2022 | 10:30-12:30 | aula seminari 2117

The first year of EPPO