The justice ministers of the Member States were informed about the state of play of the implementation of the EPPO Regulation at the JHA Council meeting on 2-3 December 2019. The Commission regularly briefs the Council on the setting up of the new EU body. The most recent progress was summarised in a non-paper of 22 November 2019.

The press release on the December JHA Council meeting also reported that the newly appointed EPPO Chief Prosecutor, Ms Laura Codruţa Kövesi, who took office on 1 November 2019 (see eucrim 3/2019, p. 164), presented her vision and plans for the office. She stressed that work on several areas is necessary to achieve the objective of making the EPPO operational by the envisaged date, i.e., by the end of 2020. These include the :

• Implementation of the PIF Directive;
• National adaptations to the EPPO Regulation;
• Appointment of the European prosecutors to complete the constitution of the college;
• Agreement on the number of delegated prosecutors;
• A functional case management system.

She also highlighted the importance of providing the EPPO with adequate human and financial resources, so that it can fulfil its task efficiently.