The European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) was established in 2002 with the aim of improving cooperation between the judicial authorities of the Member States in the investigation of serious crime, including organised crime. State Prosecutor Piret Paukštys is Estonia’s representative at Eurojust since 2023.
Her predecessors were Laura Vaik who represented Estonia at Eurojust since 2019, and Raivo Sepp who represented Estonia at Eurojust since 2004 and was Vice-President of Eurojust since September 2007.
The Estonian Prosecutor’s Office joined the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in 2004. It is a global forum for prosecutors, which has the following objectives:
- to exchange experiences between Member States in relation to criminal prosecution;
- to develop uniform high standards for implementing the law;
- to strengthen cooperation between prosecutors in the fight against organised crime, including reinforce cooperation in the collection of evidence and exchange of information;
- to develop direct contacts between prosecutors in order to strengthen bilateral day-to-day cooperation.
Work meetings for specialised prosecutors are organised as part of the cooperation. National prosecutors general meet at annual conferences.
The Prosecutor’s Office is a contact person at the European Judicial Network in criminal matters (EJN) which was established in 1998 to enhance cooperation between EU Member States in the field of legal assistance in the fight against international crime. The Prosecutor’s Office is a contact point of the EJN, together with the Ministry of Justice and the National Criminal Police.
The European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) was set up in 2000 with the aim of strengthening cooperation between EU Member States in the training of judges, prosecutors and court staff. The Prosecutor’s Office has been involved in cooperation with the EJTN as an observer since 2004.
The Prosecutor’s Office also cooperates with the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) whose mission, in particular, is to strengthen the fight against fraud, corruption and any illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the European Union.
The Prosecutor’s Office participates in the work of the CARIN cooperation network established in 2004 which aims to promote cooperation between Member States to detect, seize and confiscate illegally acquired assets.
MONEYVAL is an expert committee that assesses the implementation of anti-money laundering measures in Member States of the Council of Europe that are not members of the FATF. Estonia is a permanent member of MONEYVAL.
The Estonian Prosecutor’s Office also cooperates closely with other prosecutor’s offices in the Baltic Sea countries. The cooperation started in 1997. Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Germany and Poland participate in the cooperation. In the framework of this cooperation, an annual conference for prosecutors general is held once a year and expert groups have been set up to resolve topical issues:
- Expert Group on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance
- Expert Group on Trafficking in and Sexual Abuse of Women and Children
- Expert Group on Environmental Crimes
The ENVICRIMENET network was set up in 2011 with the aim of cooperating in the investigation of environmental crime. The cooperation network includes prosecutors from European Member States and representatives of investigative authorities. The Estonian contact points are the Prosecutor’s Office and the Environmental Board.
In the framework of the Justice Programme 2021-2027, the ERA in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the Belgian Judicial Training Institute (IGO-IFJ), the Bulgarian National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Romanian National School of Clerks (NSC) and with the support of 13 national judicial institutes and the European Union of Judicial Officers (UEHJ) implements a new training project intended for court staff and bailiffs.
The objectives of the Justice Programme are the following:
- to train around 500 members of court staff and 50 bailiffs through 21 interactive and practical legal courses on the civil and criminal law of the European Union
- to provide up-to-date standardised training packages in order to organise interactive seminars for court staff and bailiffs
- to provide further training on selected EU legal documents in civil and criminal law tailored to carrying out daily tasks
- to provide separate electronic tools for legal English used in civil and criminal law
- to improve the necessary basic language skills of court staff and bailiffs with respect to English legal terminology in order to facilitate cross-border communication and cooperation
- to use the EJTN’s training network for court staff and provide a platform for the exchange of best practices, information and knowledge in a practice-oriented manner
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is an independent body of the European Union responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice crimes against the EU’s financial interests. These include fraud, corruption, money laundering, cross-border VAT fraud and other similar criminal offences. EPPO started to operate on 1 June 2021.
EU institutions, bodies and Member States that have joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office must inform the EPPO of any criminal offences affecting the EU’s budget. It is also possible for individuals to report alleged fraud and other criminal offences to the EPPO
