Following a conflict of competence with the Croatian Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi sent a formal letter to the European Commission on 21 November 2024 expressing concern about violations of the rule of law in Croatia. In her letter, Kövesi sees a systemic challenge for Croatia to comply with the principles of the rule of law as laid down in Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the budget of the EU.

In the present case, USKOK turned to the Croatian State Attorney General to resolve a conflict of competence between its own investigation and that of the EPPO, which the State Attorney General resolved in favour of the USKOK. As a result, the EPPO relinquished its investigation to USKOK.

In her letter, the Kövesi draws the Commission’s attention to the following concerns:

• The Croatian rule designating the Croatian State Attorney General as the authority to resolve conflicts of jurisdiction is contrary to EU law;
• In the given case, the State Attorney General, tasked with resolving conflicts of competence, further aggravated the situation by basing his decision solely on the interpretation of the USKOK, without giving the EPPO the chance to express its position, and thus undermining the impartiality of the conflict resolution;
• In the present case, when USKOK started its investigation into an EU-funded project, it did not notify the EPPO of the investigation, thus failing to fulfil its obligations under the EPPO Regulation.

It is anticipated that the European Commission will examine the concerns raised by the EPPO and that further action may be taken.