Laura Codruța Kövesi concludes her term at the EPPO, while the EC report confirms the institution’s effectiveness and resource problems

Laura Codruța Kövesi will conclude her seven-year term at the helm of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on October 31, 2026, an institution she has led since its establishment. From November 1, leadership will be taken over by German prosecutor Andrés Ritter, the current deputy European chief prosecutor, who was appointed in March by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

The European Commission’s first official assessment, published after the EPPO began operating on June 1, 2021, concludes that the institution is “highly efficient and effective,” particularly in cross-border investigations. The number of active cases rose from 515 in 2021 to 3,602 at the end of 2025, while the value of frozen assets increased from €147.3 million to €1.13 billion.

However, the report confirms Kövesi’s repeated warnings about the workload, insufficient resources and the uneven application of the regulation across the 22 participating states. The Commission is calling for clearer evidence of convictions and the effective recovery of funds, and is preparing a review of the EU’s anti-fraud architecture, including cooperation between the EPPO, OLAF, Europol and Eurojust.