Cyprus has completed its chairmanship of the Council of the European Union’s Working Party on Combating Fraud, closing a six-month term focused on strengthening the protection of the EU’s financial interests.
The final meeting took place in Brussels on June 25 and marked the conclusion of the Cypriot Presidency’s work in the area of anti-fraud policy.
According to the Treasury of the Republic, the working party was chaired by Stavri Ttofa, Director of the Directorate of Financial Control of European Funds at the Treasury. Her role, the announcement said, reflected Cyprus’ active contribution to promoting a practical, balanced and results-driven agenda at European level.
The meeting was attended by Petr Klement, Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office, known as OLAF, who presented OLAF’s annual report for 2025. His participation underlined the importance of closer cooperation between OLAF, member states and EU institutions at a time when the European anti-fraud framework continues to evolve.
Participants also reviewed the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report 18/2026 on the European Commission’s anti-fraud strategy, the annual report of the OLAF Supervisory Committee and the activity report of the Controller of Procedural Guarantees.
The discussions highlighted the need for more ambitious, measurable and effective anti-fraud strategies, as well as the importance of OLAF’s independence and operational effectiveness. Issues raised included the quality and duration of investigations, the protection of procedural guarantees and the complementary role of cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The final session also served as a review of Cyprus’ work during its Presidency. Over the six-month period, Cyprus advanced the Pericles V file, which concerns the programme for exchanges, assistance and training aimed at protecting the euro against counterfeiting for the 2028–2034 period.
The Council reached a partial negotiating mandate on the file, laying the groundwork for upcoming negotiations with the European Parliament.
During its Presidency, Cyprus also co-organised two major events with OLAF: the annual conference on EU expenditure in Ayia Napa and a technical meeting in Limassol on anti-fraud tools. According to the announcement, the events helped shift the discussion from broad principles to practical solutions, with emphasis on data use, digital tools, artificial intelligence, risk indicators and improved information exchange to support more effective checks and investigations.
The Treasury, which is responsible for the secretariat of AFCOS Cyprus, said it will continue to contribute to European efforts to prevent, detect and tackle fraud, while also strengthening national mechanisms for protecting the EU’s financial interests.
At the close of the meeting, Cyprus handed over the chairmanship of the Working Party on Combating Fraud to Ireland and wished it success in continuing the work.
