We, the representatives of the Recovery and Resilience Office, stressed the importance of the internal control system and other mechanisms to protect the financial interests of the European Union in the context of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), which is financed by the European Recovery and Resilience Facility. We highlighted the importance of preventing, detecting and correcting fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest for the effective implementation of the RRP.

The main features of the detection and investigation of criminal offences in the field of protection of the financial interests of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union were presented to the participants by Dragan Obolnar and Klavdija Škrabar from the Criminal Police Directorate. They presented the competences of the Criminal Police and the criminal offences they detect based on the reports they receive. Document forgery was shown as the most frequent criminal offence and one that often occurs in combination with other offences. There was also an emphasis on cooperation between national authorities.

The Delegated Prosecutors from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, mag. Tanja Ferk Eler and Matej Oštir, presented the main features of the prosecution of criminal offences in the field of protection of the financial interests of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union. They pointed out that the functioning of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is completely independent of the Member States’ authorities.  They described their work responsibilities. Here again, the emphasis was on cooperation with national authorities.

In the second part of the event, the participants continued working in groups. Each group analysed real-life cases used to present criminal offences. The purpose of the workshops was to discuss how to react when an employee of an authority encounters a similar situation at work. The participants agreed on the need for timely detection and cooperation between all stakeholders.