European Public Prosecutor’s Office

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (the EPPO) is the independent prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice the perpetrators of, and accomplices to, criminal offences affecting the Union’s financial interests in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (1) (hereinafter ‘EPPO Regulation’) which entered into force on 20 November 2017. The EPPO became operational on 1 June 2021  (2).

Pursuant to Rule VI of the Annex to Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1696 (3) on the operating rules of the selection panel provided for in Article 14(3) of the EPPO Regulation, the Commission is responsible for the drafting, the adoption and the publication of the open call for candidates for the position of European Chief Prosecutor. The Commission has consulted the European Parliament and the Council on the draft call, at the appropriate level, before its adoption.

In accordance with Article 14(1) of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor is appointed for a non-renewable term of seven years. The mandate of the current European Chief Prosecutor will expire on 31 October 2026  (4).

The position of European Chief Prosecutor

In accordance with Article 11 of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor is the Head of the EPPO with the following main duties and responsibilities:

—	organise the work of the EPPO, direct its activities, and take decisions in accordance with the EPPO Regulation and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO,

—	represent the EPPO vis-à-vis the institutions of the Union and of the Member States of the European Union, and third parties.

In addition, the European Chief Prosecutor has other duties and responsibilities in accordance with the EPPO Regulation:

—	make a proposal to the College of the EPPO (the ‘College’) for the appointments to the position of European Delegated Prosecutors and to the position of Administrative Director of the EPPO,

—	take part in and chair the meetings of the Permanent Chambers in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO,

—	prepare and chair regular meetings of the College,

—	prepare estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the EPPO for each financial year, corresponding to the calendar year, on the basis of a proposal drawn up by the Administrative Director,

—	make proposals for implementing rules and programme documents for adoption by the College in accordance with Article 114 of the EPPO Regulation,

—	meet on a regular basis with the President of Eurojust to discuss issues of common concern and, where appropriate, participate in the meetings of the College of Eurojust,

—	meet on a regular basis with the heads of other relevant EU bodies, offices and agencies, such as Europol and OLAF, and relevant networks of Union agencies,

—	carry out any other task, as provided in the EPPO Regulation, the Decisions of the College and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for the selection phase, candidates shall meet the following minimum requirements by the closing date for applications:

Nationality: be citizens of one of the EU Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO.

Professional experience: in accordance with Article 14(2) of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor shall be selected from among candidates (i) who are active members of the public prosecution service or judiciary of the Member States, or active European Prosecutors; (ii) whose independence is beyond doubt; (iii) who possess the qualifications required for appointment to the highest prosecutorial or judicial offices in their respective Member States and have relevant practical experience of national legal systems, financial investigations and of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, obtained at domestic, European or international level, or have served as European Prosecutors; and (iv) who have sufficient managerial experience and qualifications for the position.

Languages: candidates shall have an excellent knowledge of English, which is the working language of the EPPO (5), and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union, as required by Article 12(2)(e) of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants (CEOS).

Age: candidates shall be no more than 63 years of age at the time of the appointment, which is expected to take effect on 1 November 2026. In accordance with Article 14 of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor is appointed for a non-renewable term of seven years. This means that the European Chief Prosecutor shall be able to complete the full seven-year mandate before retirement age, which, for temporary agents of the European Union, is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants and Article 52(a) of the Staff Regulations (6)), which may, exceptionally, be prolonged until the age of 70 years, on the understanding that if a prolongation beyond the age of 66 years is required this shall be granted automatically by the competent appointing authority.

In addition, candidates shall have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service, produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties and be physically fit to perform their duties.

The selected candidate shall hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid security clearance certificate at the level of EU Secret from his/her national security authority.

A personal security clearance is an administrative decision following completion of a security screening conducted by the individual’s competent national security authority in accordance with applicable national security laws and regulations, and certifying that an individual may be allowed to access classified information up to a specified level. Please note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a security clearance can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.

Appointment to the post shall only take effect on condition that the selected candidate has obtained a valid security clearance certificate.

Selection criteria

The ideal candidate should:

—	have at least 15 years of professional experience as an active member of the public prosecution service or judiciary,

—	have at least five years of experience in a senior management position or comparable management level experience within a prosecution or judicial authority,

—	have at least five years of experience as a public prosecutor responsible for investigations and prosecutions of financial crimes. Relevant track record in prosecuting offences against the Union’s financial interests or major cross-border crimes would represent an additional asset,

—	show strong achievements as a leader, manager and communicator, both at strategic and internal management levels,

—	be an outstanding and dynamic professional of sound judgement and high conceptual ability with the capacity to develop, communicate and execute a clear strategic vision for achieving the EPPO’s objectives,

—	have excellent interpersonal, decision-making, communication and negotiating skills, being able to build trusted working relationships with all stakeholders,

—	have the ability to work in a complex multicultural environment and to motivate and develop teams to the best of their potential,

—	demonstrate their understanding of and commitment to the independence and guardianship of fundamental rights required in the EPPO’s investigative and prosecutorial role,

—	have high ethical standards and personal integrity,

—	have an excellent knowledge of the institutional and legal framework of the Union.

Independence and declaration of interests

In accordance with Article 6 of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor shall act in the interest of the Union as a whole and neither seek nor take instructions from any person external to the EPPO, any Member State of the European Union or any institution, body, office or agency of the Union in the performance of duties under the EPPO Regulation.

Applicants are required to declare their commitment to act independently in the public interest, pursuant to Article 6 of the EPPO Regulation, and to declare any interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

Before taking up duties, the European Chief Prosecutor will be required to sign a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any personal interests, in particular family or financial, or interests of third parties, which would actually or potentially impair his/her independence in the course of his/her duties and which may thus lead to any actual or potential conflict of interest relevant to that position.

Selection and appointment

The European Chief Prosecutor will be appointed by the European Parliament and the Council by common accord following the selection procedure set out in Article 14 of the EPPO Regulation.

Article 14(3) of the EPPO Regulation provides that a selection panel will draw up a shortlist of qualified candidates and transmit the shortlist to the European Parliament and the Council. The candidates who are not placed on the shortlist by the panel shall be informed of the reasons for this decision.

The selection panel comprises twelve persons chosen from among former members of the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, former national members of Eurojust, members of national supreme courts, high-level prosecutors and lawyers of recognised competence. One of the persons chosen is proposed by the European Parliament. The current members of the selection panel were appointed by Council Decision (EU) 2023/133 (7), as amended by Council Decision (EU) 2024/1777 (8), for a period of four years from 20 January 2023. The selection panel operates in accordance with the rules set out in Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1696, as amended.

Conditions of employment

The Staff Regulations and the CEOS and the rules adopted by agreement between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to those Staff Regulations and CEOS shall apply to the European Chief Prosecutor. The European Chief Prosecutor will be appointed as Temporary Agent of the EPPO under Article 2(a) of the CEOS at grade AD 15. She/he will be classified depending on the length of her/his previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade. The contract will be concluded for a seven-year period, which may not be extended.

Before taking up duties, the European Chief Prosecutor must undergo a pre-recruitment medical examination to establish that she/he is physically fit to perform her/his duties.

The place of employment is Luxembourg.

Equal opportunities

The Union applies an equal opportunities policy. In accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations, the Commission pursues a strategic objective of achieving gender equality at all management levels and applies an equal opportunities policy encouraging applications that could contribute towards more diversity, gender equality and overall geographical balance.

Application procedure

Candidates are required to carefully check before submitting an application whether they meet all the eligibility criteria. Failure to possess any of these eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

The application should preferably be sent in English, but it can be sent in any of the official languages of the European Union. English, which is the working language of the EPPO, will be used during the selection process.

Candidates need a valid e-mail address. This is used to confirm the registration of their application as well as to remain in contact with them during the different stages of the selection process. Any changes to the candidate’s e-mail address made during the selection process should be indicated as soon as possible.

To complete the application, candidates need to send a CV and a letter of motivation to the following e-mail address: EU-EPPO-SELECTION-PANEL-2026@ec.europa.eu before the closing date of the call. Candidates are invited to specify all the EU languages they know and the corresponding level of knowledge according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (9).

Upon submission of their application, candidates will receive an e-mail confirming that their application has been registered. Please note that in the absence of a confirmation e-mail, the application has not been registered. For more information and/or in case of technical problems, please send an e-mail to: EU-EPPO-SELECTION-PANEL-2026@ec.europa.eu.

Closing date

The closing date for application is 28 May 2025, 23:59 (CET). Late applications are not accepted.

Important information for applicants

Applicants are reminded that the work of the selection panel is confidential. It is forbidden for applicants to make direct or indirect contact with members of the selection panel, or for anybody to do so on their behalf. Any request for information must be addressed to: EU-EPPO-SELECTION-PANEL-2026@ec.europa.eu.

Protection of personal data

The European Commission ensures that candidates’ personal data are processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10).

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(1)  Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1).

(2)  Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/856 of 26 May 2021 determining the date on which the European Public Prosecutor’s Office assumes its investigative and prosecutorial tasks (OJ L 188, 28.5.2021, p. 100).

(3)  Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1696 of 13 July 2018 on the operating rules of the selection panel provided for in Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 282, 12.11,2018, p. 8).

(4)  Decision (EU) 2019/1798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 appointing the European Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (OJ L 274, 28.10.2019, p. 1).

(5)   Decision of the College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) of 30 September 2020 on internal language arrangements.

(6)  Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385).

(7)  Council Decision (EU) 2023/133 of 17 January 2023 appointing the members of the selection panel provided for in Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (OJ L 17, 19.1.2023, p. 90).

(8)  Council Decision (EU) 2024/1777 of 20 June 2024 amending Decision (EU) 2023/133 as regards the replacement of a member of the selection panel (OJ L, 2024/1777, 24.6.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2024/1777/oj).

(9)   Global scale – Table 1 (CEFR 3.3): Common Reference levels – Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (coe.int).

(10)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).