EU criminal law expert questioned by peers on combating fraud
31 October 2012
The House of Lords Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection EU Sub-Committee will open its new inquiry into combating fraud and irregularities against the EU’s finances by hearing from Professor John Spencer on Wednesday 31 October.
Professor Spencer is a Professor of Law at Cambridge University and President of the European Criminal Law Association UK (ECLA UK).
In 2010, the European Commission estimated that a total of €2.3 billion was lost through fraud and financial irregularities and, at a time of economic crisis when every penny counts, the Committee is concerned by assertions received in written evidence that responsibility for detecting fraud and irregularities is not as clearly defined as it should be.
The Committee will be addressing a number of issues with Professor Spencer, including:
- how vulnerable EU programmes are to fraud and financial irregularities;
- whether individual Member States are doing enough to combat fraud at a national level;
- how effective the UK’s authorities are in detecting and combating fraud against EU funds; and
- his thoughts and views on the creation of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The evidence session will take place on Wednesday 31 October at 4.05pm in Committee Room 1.