In accordance with Article 6(3) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JAI of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States, Spain, as a Member State of the European Union participating in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, hereby informs the General Secretariat of the Council that the EPPO, in the exercise of its powers as set out in Articles 22, 23 and 25 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, is competent to act as an issuing authority as defined in Article 6(1) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JAI.

Under Article 33 of Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters, Spain, as a Member State of the European Union participating in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), notifies the European Commission that the EPPO, in the exercise of its competences, as provided for in Articles 22, 23 and 25 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, is competent to act as issuing authority as defined in Article 2(c)(i) of Directive 2014/41/EU. The EPPO is also competent to act as executing authority as defined in Article 2(d) of Directive 2014/41/EU, for the purpose of providing the information or evidence that the EPPO has already obtained or may obtain after initiating an investigation in the area of its competence.

When a European Investigation Order is addressed to the EPPO as executing authority, it must be sent to the Central Office of the EPPO. In urgent cases, it can be sent directly to a European Delegated Prosecutor in Spain. In this case, a copy must be sent to the Central Office of the EPPO.

In accordance with Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the mutual recognition of freezing orders and confiscation orders, Spain, as a Member State of the European Union participating in the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, hereby notifies the European Commission that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘EPPO’), in the exercise of its competences as provided for in Articles 22, 23 and 25 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, is competent to act as issuing authority as defined in Article 2, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 for the purpose of issuing freezing orders and freezing certificates as defined in that Regulation.