OLAF changes its structure and procedures for more efficient investigations
“In times of economic difficulty, the protection of the financial interests of the EU and the activities of OLAF are more important than ever" said OLAF Director-General Giovanni Kessler. With the changes the average length of OLAF investigations should be shortened and the way chosen to open an investigation or not will become more transparent as investigative priorities will be made public. More focus will be put on the most important cases, particularly those where the chances of recovering misused EU money are the highest.
The new organisation and investigative procedures of OLAF take into account opinions expressed by the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament, Member States and other stakeholders. It also takes into consideration important issues raised in the discussions on the reform of OLAF Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999, without pre-empting the results of the ongoing trilogue between the European Parliament, Council and the Commission.
The total number of OLAF staff remains the same in the new organisation, however a shift in resources from non-operational tasks to investigations together with a clearer allocation of responsibilities has increased the number of staff dedicated to investigations by around 30 percent.
The new investigative procedures are simpler, while maintaining high investigative standards and full respect for procedural guarantees. A new unit has been created that will assess all information received by OLAF containing allegations of fraud, and will select new cases according to coherent criteria and within a short timeframe. This will ensure a quick opening of investigations and overall consistency. Priority will be given to important cases where positive results are expected. The new unit will also perform quality and legality checks. The protection of fundamental rights and procedural guarantees will therefore be reinforced, and protection of the identity of sources will be given highest priority.
The anti-fraud policy activities of OLAF will be focused in one directorate. The aim is to improve the support OLAF offers Commission services in the development and implementation of fraud prevention and detection policies, to enhance the support given to Member States notably in the fight against smuggling, and to focus policy development on a number of priority initiatives such as the European Public Prosecutor's Office.