The EPPO and the Rule of Law

This text brings together the contributions of speakers at the Conference ‘The EPPO and the Rule of Law’ organised on 18 April 2023 by the STEPPO Centre of Excellence. The Conference marks the end of the STEPPO Centre of Excellence’s second edition of the module ‘The EPPO and EU Law: A Step Forward in EU Integration’. These pages discuss the protection of the Rule of Law in the work of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office itself and its commitment to defending the fundamental values of the EU. The aim of this text is to examine, from different angles but with a common focus, how the European Public Prosecutor’s Office can embody and promote the Rule of Law in its mission to protect the Union’s financial interests. The first section starts with an analysis of EPPO’s constitution in order to examine its role in the further protection of the Rule of Law. The second section then ex-amines EPPO’s investigative and procedural practice, and the respect for fun-damental rights in the exercise of its investigative functions. The third and fi-nal section is devoted to the cooperation mechanisms between EPPO and other European actors, analysing EPPO’s role in developing best practice in defence of the Rule of Law.