The Lelio and Lisli Basso Foundation is pleased to announce the international conference “EPPO and the Protection of EU Financial Interests: Challenges, Cooperation, and the Road Ahead”, which will take place in Rome on 17–18 September 2026.

The conference will bring together representatives of European and national institutions, members of the judiciary, academics, and experts to discuss the key challenges in protecting the European Union’s financial interests, the role of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and cooperation in combating fraud affecting the EU budget.

• Program
• Registration Form

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International conference

 

EPPO and the Protection of EU Financial Interests: Challenges, Cooperation, and the Road Ahead

 

Rome, 17-18 September 2026

Europa Experience – David Sassoli
Piazza Venezia 6c

 

Thursday, 17 September 2026

09:00–09:20 – Registration

09:20- 09:40 – Welcome addresses

Franco Ippolito, President of Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso
Carlo Corazza, Head of the Office of the European Parliament in Italy

09:40–10:10 – Opening speeches

Andrea Venegoni, European Prosecutor
Peter Csonka, Director (acting) for Justice Policies in DG JUSTICE, European Commission
Pietro Gaeta, General Prosecutor at the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation
Giovanni Melillo, National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor
Antonino Raimondo, Commander of the Special Currency Police Unit, Guardia di Finanza
Chair – Luigi Marini, Magistrate, Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso

• Session I – EPPO: An initial assessment and institutional cooperation

Topics: This first session will be dedicated to an evaluation of EPPO’s operations in these first years of work and of its interaction with OLAF, Eurojust, and national authorities

10:10 –11:30

Francesco Lo Gerfo, Seconded national expert at European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
Gianluca Forlani, Assistant to the National Member for Italy at Eurojust
Mariarosaria Guglielmi, European Delegated Prosecutor (EDP)
Francesca Ruggieri, Professor of criminal procedure, University of Insubria (Como)
Chiara Ricci, Legal Secretary at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
Chair: Peter Csonka, Director (acting) for Justice Policies in DG JUSTICE, European Commission

12:00–13:00 – Panel Discussion and Q&A

13:00–14:00 – Lunch

• Session II – PIF Directive and EPPO competence

Topics: This session will be dedicated to an in-depth examination of the legislative and practical implementation of the PIF Directive, emphasizing its implications for EPPO jurisdiction and the coordination of cross-border investigations.

14:00–16:00

Valsamis Mitsilegas, Professor of European and Global Law and Dean of the School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool
Michele Caianiello, Professor of Criminal Procedure at the University of Bologna
Rosaria Sicurella, Full Professor of Criminal Law, University of Catania
Pasquale Profiti, European Delegated Prosecutor (EDP)
Chair: Lorena Bachmaier Winter, Full Professor in justice systems and procedure, at the Complutense University in Madrid

16:00–17:00 – Panel Discussion and Q&A

 

Friday, 18 September 2026

• Session III – Transnational investigations: inside and beyond EPPO

Topics: Operational challenges and cooperation in cross-border investigations, including with third countries

09:30–11:30

Danilo Ceccarelli, Senior coordinator- Fight against organized crime, EPPO
Davide D’Auria, Head of the Economic Crime Unit at Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC)
Gaetano De Amicis, President of section of the Italian Court of Cassation
Gabriella Di Paolo, Professor of Criminal Procedural Law at the University of Trento
Nicholas Franssen, Counsellor at Ministry of Justice and Security in The Netherlands
Chair: Katalin Ligeti, Professor of European and International Criminal Law at University of Luxembourg

12:00–13.00 – Panel Discussion and Q&A

13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch

• Session IV – The future of EPPO: powers and geopolitical challenges 

Topics: Strategic perspectives on expanding EPPO’s competencies in light of new EU policies (green transition, defense, customs)

14:00- 16:00

Fabio Giuffrida, Head of the Antifraud Criminal Policy Sector, Criminal Justice Unit, DG JUST, European Commission
Caterina Chinnici, Vice-president of the CONT Committee of the European Parliament
Danilo Ceccarelli, Senior coordinator- Fight against organized crime, EPPO
Nicoletta Parisi, Adjunct Professor of Laws and Policies on Countering Domestic and International Corruption at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan
John Vervaele, Emeritus professor at Utrecht Law School and professor at College of Europe in Bruges
Chair: Lorenzo Salazar, Deputy Prosecutor General at the Court of Appeal of Naples (ret.)

16:00–17:00 – Panel Discussion and Q&A

17:00 – Closing Remarks: Andrea Venegoni, European Prosecutor

 

Working languages: English and Italian (simultaneous interpretation will be provided)

The event will be streamed on the Fondazione Basso YouTube channel

This conference is funded by the European Union’s EUAF Programme

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