The latest agreement reached at an EU summit on 9 March opens the door for an EU-level prosecutor European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) with powers to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice anyone committing fraud that involves the EU budget or cross-border VAT. An estimated €50 billion VAT revenues are lost each year due to cross-border fraud, says the European Commission, euobserver.com writes.

The move is largely procedural but also symbolic for an EU currently debating the possibility of a so-called multi-speed Europe, where some countries can forge ahead with deeper integration.

Some 17 EU states in a letter earlier this year piled on the pressure for EU summit leaders to endorse a smaller EPPO. That letter was signed by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Read more.