# European Public Prosecutor's Office becomes operational under chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi

Date: 2021

On 1 June 2021 the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) began operations, the EU's first independent prosecution body empowered to investigate and prosecute crimes against the Union's budget, including fraud, corruption and cross-border VAT fraud. It was led by European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi, confirmed in 2019, alongside prosecutors from participating member states. The EPPO gave the EU a supranational enforcement capacity that had previously not existed.

## Drivers

- Anti-corruption enforcement capacity: https://factrail.ai/drivers/gov-anti-corruption-enforcement

## Sources

_Sources are listed on the canonical page._

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/gov-fact-eppo-operational-kovesi-2021