The European Commission stated that the body will be based in Luxembourg and will:

“have the authority, under certain conditions, to investigate and prosecute EU-fraud and other crimes affecting the Union's financial interests. It will bring together European and national law-enforcement efforts to counter EU fraud.”

It is expected to be up and running in three years from now.

The 20 member states who will be part of this initiative are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Viviane Reding, then vice president of the European Commission tasked with the development of a truly European area of justice, launched the proposal already back in 2013.

She commented in a press release:

“Year on year, billions of euros of European tax-payers’ money are lost to cross-border fraud. Yet, impunity reigns, as fraudsters all too often elude prosecution due to a lack of cooperation between national authorities. No longer. The EPPO will put an end to this outrageous situation: our European budget finally gets the European protection it deserves. I am proud that the EPPO will soon take up its duties from its seat in Luxembourg, and I want to seize the occasion to personally commend the ground-breaking work of former French justice minister Robert Badinter, whose intellectual and political contribution was instrumental in paving the way towards the EPPO. I congratulate the 20 Member States who have taken this courageous step forward – may the others join them soon. Every European citizen deserves equal protection for his or her tax-money.”

Looking towards the future, Reding added: “I would now like to see this ambition furthered by extending the EPPO's competences to areas of serious cross-border crime and terrorism. The window of opportunity is open, the Treaty allows it, and our current security-situation demands it!”