ON FEBRURY 14, Franz-Hermann Bruner was formally appointed director-general of the European Anti-Fraud Office better known under the acronym OLAF, which corresponds to the office's name in French.
Quoting from the relevant European Commission press release: "Mr Bruner will be responsible, in full independence, for the investigative activity of the Office. Under the supervision of the Commissioner responsible for the protection of the European Union's financial interests, he will manage the Office's contribution to the design of the Commission's anti-fraud strategy as well as providing assistance to the member states by organising close and regular co-operation between their competent authorities in order to co-ordinate activities aimed at protecting the EU's financial interests against fraud."
Functional responsibility for OLAF falls under the portfolio of Commission Vice President Slim Kallas, Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud. However OLAF is expected to be able to function independently of the Commission and this objective is reflected in the complex procedure leading to the appointment of its director-general.
The Commission nominates a short-list of potential candidates for the post, after obtaining suitable references from a 'Supervisory Committee' that watches over the activity of OLAF. The short-listed candidates are then subject to hearings by the European Parliament, through its Budgetary-Control Committee, and by the EU Council. The final selection is made at the end of a 'trialogue' meeting involving the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.
Mr Bruner has already occupied the post of director-general of OLAF; more specifically from 2000, that is only one year after the creation of the office, to 2005. His original appointment had included the provision that it could be renewed once but the procedure, nevertheless, required the complex inter-institutional process described above.
OLAF's brief is to fight fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the EU. OLAF's role is integrated within that of the Commission to secure the broadest possible platform in the fight against fraud, which has to be reflected in a sustained effort that must be pursued at all levels.
In particular, this must encompass adequate vigilance at the operational level in the member states by entities, such as customs departments, etc., which have a critical role. At the same time, however, OLAF enjoys an individual independent status for its investigative function to safeguard its capacity to investigate all allegations or suspicions of fraud, from wherever they might originate and independently of whoever might be implicated.
Responsibility for the implementation of OLAF's investigative functions (internal and external) falls on the shoulders of its director-general. In order to safeguard OLAF's independence, the director-general is not only empowered but even legally obliged 'neither to seek nor take instructions from any government or any institution', including the Commission. If the director-general considers that the Commission has taken some measure that challenges his independence, he has the right to open a case against the Commission before the Court of Justice.
The EU budget revenue includes customs duties, agricultural levies and VAT contributions. This revenue is used to finance various programmes and projects within the Member States and also in third countries. Both the evasion of the taxes and duties that feed the EU budget, on the one hand, and the misuse of EU financial assistance, on the other, constitute illegal activities to the detriment of the EU's financial interests and translate into a real loss to the EU taxpayer.
The fight against fraud should therefore be a matter of concern to everyone and it is the specific responsibility thrust upon OLAF. One which entails both an external and an internal aspect.
In covering its 'external' investigative function, OLAF operates in close co-operation with its national partners, that is the police, legal and administrative authorities in the member states. It has become a cliché to state that crime knows no boundaries but this does not detract from the fact that this is precisely the case. Criminals and fraudsters have moved to organise their illicit activities at the international level even before the opening of borders.
Fighting this kind of crime requires a parallel capacity, on the part of law enforcement agencies, to operate internationally. Other specific agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust, are involved in this fight against international crime. OLAF's remit is to focus specifically on crime that poses a threat to EU finances.
In addition, OLAF must also fulfil an 'internal' investigative function. Experience teaches that no institution in the world can consider itself safe from cases of corruption by its officials. One of the intentions behind the establishment of OLAF was to equip the EU Institutions with an investigation instrument that can protect them, and the large majority of their officials who are loyal and honest, from the threat of illicit activity from within. To this end, OLAF can carry out administrative investigations inside the EU Institutions and other bodies and organs of the EU. Insofar as the underlying legal provisions are respected, OLAF has a whole serious of powers to assist it in its task. For example, it has full access to the buildings of the EU Institutions. It can demand access to all the information accumulated by these Institutions, with the possibility to check accounts and to obtain extracts of any document. It can carry out on the spot controls and can request, from any EU official, that information which it considers useful in its investigations.
OLAF's investigative functions are assisted by a number of ancillary services that provide crucial support. This includes an Information and Intelligence unit that seeks to keep track of all reported cases of fraud as a way of predicting where new threats could be latent, such that they can be tackled even before they become manifest. There is also a Policy and Legislation directorate which is likewise significantly involved in fraud prevention through the constant review of current legislation and procedures to make them as much fraud-proof as possible.
Having said all this, however, it is important to emphasise that OLAF is neither a secret service nor a police force. It is rather the legal instrument and the required professional competence, within the EU system, to fight against fraud and corruption which would be detrimental to the EU, including any wrongdoing from within the EU's own institutions and bodies. The ultimate objective is to achieve better protection of community interests against both external and internal threats of fraud and other actions perpetrated with criminal intent in the ultimate interest of EU citizens.