Mr Ard van der Steur rapporteur on European Public Prosecutor's Office
On 19 February 2014 the standing committee on Security and Justice appointed Mr Ard van der Steur rapporteur. On behalf of the House he will monitor the negotiation process with regard to the EU-proposal for the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The House of Representatives is against this proposal.
On 19 February 2014 the standing committee on Security and Justice appointed Mr Ard van der Steur rapporteur. On behalf of the House he will monitor the negotiation process with regard to the EU-proposal for the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The House of Representatives is against this proposal.
With its plans for a European Public Prosecutor's Office the European Commission aims at rendering the prosecution of criminals who commit fraud with EU-money more powerful throughout the European Union. The House of Representatives is against such a European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Although the House also wants to take rigorous action against fraud with EU money, it considers criminal prosecution to be a competence of Member States. In October 2013, the parliaments of eleven Member States, including the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, showed the Commission the yellow card, because in the eyes of these parliaments, Europe's competences would increase too much as a result of the Commission's plans.
Rapporteur
Now that the Commission is going through with the creation of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, it is rapporteur Ard van der Steur's task to closely monitor the negotiation process and to report on it to the standing committee on Security and Justice. In his capacity of rapporteur he will maintain contacts with representatives from other national parliaments, in order to explore the possibilities of further initiatives and objection procedures. Keeping in touch with the rapporteur of the European Parliament is also an obvious thing to do, given the EP's key role in the negotiations. It goes without saying that the position Mr Van der Steur is going to take in his capacity of rapporteur must be in line with the position of the standing committee on Security and Justice.
Parliamentary reservation
In the House of Representatives the proposal is subject to parliamentary reservation. This means that the Cabinet will keep the House of Representatives thoroughly informed about the negotiations on the establishment of the EPPO. Due to the parliamentary reservation, the Cabinet can only take further steps in its consultations with other EU Member States after the Cabinet has made agreements with the House of Representatives on the issue in question.