The European Parliament voted today in favour of proposals for a reform of OLAF, the EU anti-fraud agency, in a decision welcomed by the European Commission. 

OLAF had come under criticism for the way it conducted its investigation of then EU Commissioner John Dalli.

The reform will introduce measures to strengthen the agency's procedural guarantees (i.e. respect of fundamental rights) for any person under investigation by OLAF.

Provisions to safeguard fundamental rights are currently set out in OLAF's internal rules of procedure. The revised Regulation will now enshrine these procedural rights in EU law, giving them a full and proper legal basis.

These include the right for the person to be informed of his/her rights ahead of the interview, to be informed about the issue under investigation and to make their views known before conclusions are drawn up; the right to be assisted by a person of his/her choice and the right to use the EU official language of their choice.

In addition, the reform provides for a quality control unit in OLAF to check, amongst other things, the legality of actions during investigations.

The OLAF reform clarifies the roles of the OLAF Director General and the Supervisory Committee.

OLAF's Director General will continue to be responsible for deciding and opening any investigations that OLAF carries out. The Director General's term will be non-renewable after 7 years, to reinforce his independence. In addition, the new Regulation includes a clear procedure for replacing the Director General at the end of his mandate.

The Supervisory Committee will continue to monitor OLAF's activities, particularly to ensure that investigations are carried out in full independence.

The Regulation clarifies that the Committee should carry out a systemic (rather than case-by-case) analysis on OLAF's work, including monitoring procedures related to fundamental rights.

OLAF will have to inform the Supervisory Committee if an investigation is not completed within 12 months and explain why it needs an extension of this deadline. The Supervisory Committee should be informed periodically of cases which are forwarded to national authorities for follow-up.

The OLAF reform will intensify cooperation between OLAF and Member State authorities and provide for greater information exchange on cases and the related prosecutions.

Each Member State is to designate a contact point, which would facilitate the cooperation of national authorities with OLAF.

The new Regulation also foresees closer cooperation between OLAF, the Supervisory Committee and the EU institutions. There will be an annual exchange of views between all these parties on OLAF's anti-fraud policy.

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