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On 24 November 2021, the EPPO College appointed two European Delegated Prosecutors from Slovenia. The appointment seems to put an end to a dispute between the EU and Slovenia, which delayed the nomination of the country’s candidates for months. Now all Member States participating in the scheme of the EPPO have European Delegated Prosecutors.

The EPPO and OLAF conducted one of the first joint operations. The investigations concerned procurement fraud in the purchase of an information system for the Croatian Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds (MRRFEU). The investigations resulted in the arrest of four suspects on 10 …

Between 27 September and 8 October 2021, various EU and national law enforcement agencies cracked down on transnational crime at the EU’s eastern and south-eastern land borders. The joint action days code-named “Finestra” were led by Frontex and the Romanian authorities. They also involved OLAF, …

Within the framework of a joint investigation week that took place between 20 and 25 September 2021, law enforcement authorities in 16 countries cracked down on the illegal import of refrigerant gases (HFCs – hydrofluorocarbons). The operations were coordinated by Dutch authorities, OLAF and Europol. …

On 15 October 2021, the EU and 19 Member States launched a new framework operation code-named “Sentinel” at the headquarters of Europol in The Hague. The operation will target frauds and other criminal activities against the EU’s post-pandemic support under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

On 14 October 2021, OLAF reported that the Ukrainian customs authorities successfully dismantled a cargo with over 13 million smuggled cigarettes with a weight of over 14.5 tonnes. The cigarettes were hidden in a shipment of tires. OLAF transmitted information from the Indian customs services …

On 10 November 2021, OLAF reported that it detected an EU-wide fraud scheme which damaged the EU’s financial interests by €14 million of undeclared customs duties and around €93 of evaded VAT. The investigations involved a total of nearly 2000 consignments of textiles and shoes, …

On 14 December 2021, Europol and OLAF informed the public of the second edition of operation “SHIELD” that was carried out between April and mid-October 2021. Operation Shield II resulted, inter alia, in the seizure of 25 million units of medicines and doping substances worth nearly €63 million.

On 16 December 2021, the European Parliament adopted (with 356 votes for, 284 against, and 40 abstentions) a resolution on the situation of fundamental rights and rule of law in Slovenia. Despite positive developments, the resolution tackles several threats to democracy and media freedom in …

This news item continues updates on recent rule-of-law developments in Hungary (as far as they relate to European law). For the last overview → eucrim 3/2021, 137-138.