EditGerman prosecutor to take the baton from Kövesi as EPPO chief
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee endorses Andrés Ritter and his vision for a stronger, more tech-driven European prosecution
German prosecutor Andrés Ritter is poised to become the next European Chief Prosecutor after the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) endorsed his appointment.
On Monday, MEPs in LIBE voted in favour of Ritter’s nomination to head the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), with 52 votes in favour, 10 against and six abstentions. The committee’s endorsement follows a hearing held on 3 December 2025, when four shortlisted candidates presented themselves in questions and answer session with MEPs. Ritter emerged as Parliament’s preferred candidate. His conteners were Stefano Castellani (Italy), a prosecutor who received notable but lower support in the preference vote (e.g., 11 votes in the earlier tally), Emilio Jesús Sánchez Ulled (Spain), a prosecutor who garnered limited votes in the indicative ballot (e.g., 7 votes) and Ingrid Maschl-Clausen (Austria), an existing EPPO staff member (like Ritter), who received the fewest votes in reported tallies (e.g., 4 votes).
The European Chief Prosecutor is appointed by common agreement between Parliament and the Council. Both institutions have preliminarily expressed their preference for Ritter. A final vote in the European Parliament plenary is expected in March 2026.
If confirmed, Ritter would succeed Laura Codruța Kövesi, the EPPO’s first-ever Chief Prosecutor, whose seven-year term ends on 31 October.
Who is Andrés Ritter?
Ritter joined Germany’s prosecution service in 1995 and served in various prosecution offices before becoming Deputy Prosecutor General in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2008. From 2010 onwards, he headed several public prosecution offices, most recently serving between 2013 and 2020 as Chief Prosecutor at the specialised Public Prosecution Office for Economic Crime and Cybercrime in Rostock, overseeing up to 130 staff.
He is also a German representative at the International Association of Judges, which is committed to worldwide judicial independence, and a member of the Study Commission on Criminal Law.
In November 2020, Ritter was appointed Deputy European Chief Prosecutor by the EPPO College. His mandate was renewed in July 2023 for another three years. Having served for more than five years as a European Prosecutor and Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, he told MEPs he was applying for the top job because he is “deeply committed” to the EPPO’s mission and believes in its potential to provide an effective criminal justice response to fraud and corruption affecting the Union’s financial interests.
In his written answers to MEPs, Ritter argued that as the EPPO moves beyond its start-up phase into a period requiring consolidation, innovation and resilient leadership, he feels prepared to guide it through the challenges ahead. Drawing on more than three decades as a prosecutor and over ten years leading prosecution offices, he pointed to his experience in managing complex investigations and large teams, as well as his earlier work at the European Commission, which strengthened his background in international judicial cooperation.
A vision centered on organised crime and cross-border fraud
Ritter set out a vision of the EPPO as “an impactful team player” in protecting the EU’s financial interests, a trusted partner for law enforcement and judiciaries within and beyond the Union, and a benchmark for efficiency in combating complex cross-border financial crime.
He identified three main categories of challenges for the coming years: operational challenges linked to evolving organised crime methods; legal challenges arising from the interaction between national and European legal frameworks; and resource and structural challenges, particularly budget constraints and differing national working conditions.
Ritter stressed that the EPPO must remain capable of rapidly identifying new criminal trends and adapting its tools and methods. He pledged to foster a culture of continuous improvement and technological adaptation, including further developing analytical capacities in close cooperation with Europol, OLAF and national authorities.
Addressing crimes such as money laundering stemming from VAT fraud and the involvement of organised crime groups, Ritter underlined that even within its current mandate, the EPPO can have a “considerable impact” by working closely with national authorities, Europol, Eurojust and AMLA. He referred to tools such as automatic hit/no-hit systems, joint investigation teams and strategic coordination, emphasising the EPPO’s cross-border capabilities and its ability to swiftly collect evidence with judicial safeguards.
Efficiency, procedural rights and asset recovery
On strengthening effectiveness, Ritter highlighted the need to reinforce the EPPO’s central operational support, optimise workflows and improve its case management system through automation and better access to relevant databases. Investments in modern IT and AI tools, as well as in the capacity to process vast quantities of data in compliance with data protection rules, were described as essential.
He also underlined the importance of rigorous respect for procedural rules under EU and national law, stating that protecting suspects’ and accused persons’ rights is a fundamental obligation. While acknowledging that the EPPO cannot harmonise divergent national procedural rules, he expressed support for initiatives to further approximate national criminal procedural laws beyond the existing six procedural rights directives.
On asset recovery, Ritter noted that while the EPPO’s mandate currently does not extend to the final recovery of mismanaged resources for the EU budget, operational success can be measured by the financial impact of its investigations. He referred to the “Calypso” investigation, in which the EPPO uncovered damage of €350 million in unpaid customs and anti-dumping duties and seized assets worth more than €270 million.
Looking ahead, he signalled openness to adjustments in the upcoming revision of the EPPO Regulation, including clarifying how the EU’s financial rights are protected when assets are confiscated. He also pointed to the absence of a defined system ensuring that the EU can recover assets obtained through fraud in parallel with criminal proceedings.
Caption: Laura Codruța Kövesi, the EPPO’s first-ever Chief Prosecutor, and Andrés Ritter on 12 July 2023 – the day EPPO extended his mandate of Deputy European Chief Prosecutor for another three years./EPPO
Updated: February 24, 2026 - 16:36
