German lawyer to head fight against EU fraud

Andrés Ritter (pictured) has been named at the new head of a body that spearheads the fight against EU fraud.

Ritter will be the new European chief prosecutor to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) with effect from 1 November.

He joined Germany’s prosecution service in 1995 and headed various prosecution offices. Ritter has been deputy European chief prosecutor since 2020.

The EPPO is an independent body of the EU responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing crimes against the financial interests of the Union - for example, fraud, corruption, cross-border  VAT fraud above €10 million - to judgment.

The EPPO has the power to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment crimes against the EU budget.

The European chief prosecutor heads of the EPPO, organises its work and represents the Office in contacts with EU institutions, member states and third countries.

He or she is appointed for a non-renewable term of seven years. The mandate of the current EPPO chief, Laura Codruța Kövesi, expires on 30 October.

The Council appoints a European prosecutor for each of the 24 participating member states.

The European chief prosecutor is appointed by common agreement between the Council and the EU parliament. The appointment must now also be confirmed by the European Parliament.

The Office was established back in 2013 and, in October 2019, Codruţa Kövesi was appointed as the first European chief prosecutor.

By the end of 2025, EPPO had 3,602 active investigations, for a total estimated damage of over €67.2 billion to the EU and national budgets.

Currently 24 member states participate in the EPPO: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

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