The new EPPO will be the first supranational public prosecution office and will investigate and prosecute fraud and other crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests.

Ireland is among a small handful of EU member states which are not participating in the new institution, but can join at any time.

In a joint statement, European Commission vice-president Věra Jourová and commissioners Johannes Hahn and Didier Reynders welcomed and congratulated the new European prosecutors.

They said: “The European prosecutors have a crucial job to do: they need to bring justice into an area where impunity is frequent and losses are significant for both the EU and national budgets. For this, they must be independent, determined and thorough in their investigations.

“We are glad that, despite the challenges of the pandemic, together we still managed to achieve our goal of setting up the new office this year.”