"In each country, there would be the so-called delegated EU prosecutors. They would investigate cases involving the use of EU funds according to national law but under the European prosecutor's supervision. That, in our opinion, would dramatically increase the effectiveness of such pre-trial investigations," he told the radio station Žinių Radijas.
Šemeta, the EU commissioner for taxation and customs union, audit and anti-fraud, said that this institution would help ensure both that EU funds were used more efficiently and that fraudsters were brought to justice.
"That would serve as a sort of preventive measure. Potential fraudsters would know that their actions would likely not go unnoticed," he said.
Currently, only one out of five cases handed by the European Anti-fraud Office over to national law-enforcement bodies is brought to court, according to the commissioner.
"We believe that if such cases were investigated by the European Prosecutor's Office, the results would be significantly better," he said.
The results of a pre-trial investigation conducted in one EU country would be recognized in all member states, hence no need for repeated investigations, because in many cases, crimes affecting the EU budget go beyond the borders of one country and involve organized groups of criminals, Šemeta said.
"The possibility of using the results of investigations in several countries without carrying out repeated examinations and analyses would greatly increase the effectiveness of pre-trial investigations," he said.
The introduction of a European Public Prosecutor's Office is envisaged by the EU Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force in 2009.
