One year of war in Ukraine

Since the early days of the war, Eurojust has been supporting the ongoing investigations into alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine. The first quarter of 2023 saw not only the first commemoration of the invasion but also a number of pivotal developments in the international community’s joint efforts to ensure accountability:

One year in pictures (YouTube)

Media briefing on the joint investigation team (YouTube)

Ms Piret Paukštys has taken up her duties as the new National Member for Estonia at Eurojust, replacing Ms Laura Vaik. Ms Paukštys worked until recently as state prosecutor in the Office of the Prosecutor General in Tallinn. She has extensive experience with cross-border cooperation matters and international investigations, especially in economic and cybercrime cases. The new National Member for Estonia is appointed for a mandate of five years.

Mr Evert van Walsum has begun his four-year mandate as Administrative Director of Eurojust on 1 March 2023, following his appointment by the College of the Agency in autumn 2022. In his new role, Mr van Walsum will be responsible for the day-to-day administration and staff management, ensuring full support for the operational work of the Agency.

Eurojust and OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) have concluded a new Working Arrangement to enhance their cooperation in the fight against fraud, corruption, environmental crime, intellectual property crime and other crimes affecting the EU's financial interests. The Working Arrangement was signed by Eurojust President Mr Ladislav Hamran and OLAF Director-General Mr Ville Itälä during their high-level meeting in The Hague.

Experts and officials from Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia participated in a Conference on Environmental Justice in the Mediterranean in Algiers to share best practices and expertise. Furthermore, a dedicated joint training session for practitioners took place in Verona in Italy.

With over 1 000 new registered members last year and a rapidly growing hub of information and resources for the EU authorities, the SIRIUS project held its annual Advisory Board meeting on 15 March to present its 2022 main achievements and discuss the ambitious plans of the project partners – Eurojust and Europol – for 2023.