EU presenteert plannen voor een Europees Openbaar Aanklager (en)

BRUSSELS - The European Commission will outline its plans for a European Public Prosecutor's Office next week.

EU commissioner for justice Viviane Reding, along with EU tax and anti-fraud commissioner Algirdas Semeta, will present the proposal on Wednesday.

The office will be in charge of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice those suspected of defrauding EU money.

Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said it would be set up using existing resources.

The proposal is part of a larger package to expand the EU's joint judicial authority, Eurojust.

Meanwhile, Wednesday will see a commission proposal to tackle poverty and ensure development after the Millennium Development Goals reach their target date in 2015.

The commission also plans to present its vision on how to “enhance the efficiency of Europe's defence and security sector.”

Industry commissioner, Antonio Tajani, and financial services commissioner Michel Barnier, will outline their ideas on European defence on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will meet with Iceland’s Prime Minister to discuss future EU-Iceland relations.

Iceland’s new government, voted into office in April elections, says it has no plans for further discussions on possible EU membership.

Iceland has instead opted to strengthen existing EU bilateral agreements, to be discussed on Tuesday in Brussels.

Barroso will then head to South Africa for the sixth EU-South Africa summit on Thursday, along with trade commissioner Karel De Gucht and development commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

The European Parliament, for its part, is sending teams of delegates abroad.

On Monday, a delegation of MEPs from the economic and monetary affairs committee, will meet with members of the US congress in Washington.

The two sides will discuss financial regulatory reforms and economic governance.

A separate parliament delegation from the civil liberties committee will also be on tour.

The MEPs on Monday travel to Spain to assess how the EU’s border police agency Frontex conducts its operations against irregular migration and organised crime groups from North Africa.

The head of the delegation, Portuguese centre-right Carlos Coelho, says the aerial and maritime surveillance operations by Frontex operation allows it to quickly identify migrant boats in distress.