the EPPO. On 13 November 2019, on behalf of his government, he declared that joining the EPPO is first among three objectives on EU policy for his government. According to the commission, the Swedish government indicated that Sweden planned to join sometime in 2022. Members Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Non-participants (may join any time) Hungary Poland Sweden Opt-out from AFSJ Denmark Ireland (opt-in) Legal basis The EPPO was provided for in Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union by the Treaty of Lisbon. The article states the following: Establishment The Council of the European Union, by a special legislative procedure, may establish a European Public Prosecutor's Office on the basis of Eurojust. This must be done by unanimity in the council and with the consent of the European Parliament. If the Council cannot reach unanimity, a group of at least nine member states may refer a draft to the European Council. Those member states may also proceed to establish enhanced co-operation between themselves after informing Parliament, the Council and the commission. Role The office shall, in liaison with Europol, be responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment those connected to offences against the EU's financial interests. It shall exercise this function in the relevant national courts. The regulations establishing the office shall determine rules governing how it performs its duties including the admissibility of evidence. The European Council may amend the treaty, after consulting the commission and gaining the consent of Parliament, to extend its powers to include serious cross border crime. List of European Chief Prosecutors Prospects for the future So far, the limited mission of the EPPO is to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgement, before national courts, persons suspected of offences affecting the financial interests of the Union. The so-called ‘PIF Directive’ sets out what those offences are. But the mission of EPPO may also be extended in the future to cover other serious cross-border crimes. The functions of EPPO are carried out by European delegated prosecutors in the participating member states who have the same powers as national public prosecutors in addition to the powers conferred on them by Union law. For instance, the European delegated prosecutor can issue an EAW or request that a competent national judicial authority issues an