Author: Miriam Testa
Committee: EU institutions Committee
Date: 20/12/2025
November 2025, the European Commission appointed Petr Klement as new Director-General for OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office. He succeeded Ville Itälä, the Finnish politician who served as Director-General for OLAF from 2018 to 2025. “It has been an honor to lead OLAF in its vital mission of protecting European taxpayers’ money and promoting integrity within the EU institutions. I am proud of what we have achieved together – from strengthening OLAF’s investigative capabilities to fostering strong partnerships across Europe and beyond. I extend my sincere thanks to my colleagues and partners for their unwavering dedication and professionalism,” said Ville Itälä.
Petr Klement is an expert in the protection of financial interests, specializing in PIF crime, cybercrime, and combating the financing of terrorism[1]:
1. He worked as a prosecutor in the Department of Serious Economic and financial crime at the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for the Czech Republic.
2. He was a member of the Supervisory Committee of OLAF from 2017 to 2020.
3. He joined the Czech prosecution service in 2000.
4. From 2004 he worked as a district prosecutor specializing in economic crimes.
5. From 2006 to 2014 he worked for the international department of the PGO. During that time, he was seconded to Eurojust (2007), to North Kosovo within the EU Rule of Law Mission, EULEX (2010–2012) and to the IPA 2010 Project in Tirana, Albania (2013–2014).
6. He has run the National Network of Cybercrime Prosecutors and was the General Coordinator of the Criminal justice Project at the European Judicial Training Network.
7. He served as European Prosecutor for Czechia since 2020.
8. He was appointed by the EPPO College as Deputy European Chief Prosecutor from 2023 to 2025.
The European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, expressed her congratulations for the new appointment:
“I warmly welcome the appointment of Deputy European Chief Prosecutor Petr Klement to DirectorGeneral of OLAF. Petr Klement has an outstanding track record at EPPO, and the direct knowledge of the main challenges ahead, as well as concrete ideas on how to improve the level of protection of the financial interests of the EU. I look forward to taking our cooperation with OLAF to the next level”.
The appointment procedure of the Director-General for OLAF and his role.
The OLAF is part of the European Commission with operational independence, and its mission is to detect, investigate and stop fraudulent use of EU funds.
According to Article 17.2 of the EU Regulation 883/2013 (hereinafter “OLAF REGULATION”) the Director-General is appointed by the European Commission. Before the appointment, there is a public call for application published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Based on the applications, the Commission draws up a list of suitably qualified candidates, and the Supervisory Committee shall give a favorable opinion on the selection procedure applied by the Commission. Based on this list, the EU Parliament and the Council shall agree on a shortlist of three candidates from the list of suitable candidates drawn up by the Commission. The Commission formally appoints the Director General selecting the most suitable among those three candidates.
The term of the Director General’s mandate is 7 years, and he is not renewable by law. When the Director General’s mandate ends, an acting Director General takes place until a new Director General is appointed.
According to the OLAF Regulation, the Director General has administrative, operational and strategic direction, ensuring that OLAF fulfills its mission of protecting the EU’s financial interests. Moreover, the Director General must act independently from the EU commission or any other institution or national government during the investigations and must avoid any conflicts of interest. The Director General decides whether to open an investigation, determines investigative priorities and closes investigation by approving the final reports. The Director-General must also report OLAF’s activities to the European Parliament, Council, and Court of Auditors, and communicate the results of investigations to relevant authorities.
For now, Petr Klement has not yet taken over the Director-General’s duties, and the date is still to be set.
Cooperation between OLAF and EPPO
In July 2021, Laura Kövesi and Ville Itälä signed the first working arrangement[2] between the two institutions. Both institutions were established to fight frauds against the European Union’s budget: OLAF conducts administrative investigations, while EPPO conducts criminal investigations. This agreement was considered by Ville Itälä as an “important milestone in our future relationship. It sets out concrete terms how we will work together, based on trust and transparency Focusing on rapid, effective and reciprocal exchanges of information, it should ensure that no case goes undetected. It is a major part of ensuring that together we can step up the fight against fraud and corruption affecting the financial interests of the EU.”[3] The working arrangement clarifies how the two offices will exchange information, report and transfer cases and support each other during the investigation.
Furthermore, according to the principle of non-duplication, OLAF cannot open an investigation if the EPPO is conducting its own investigation into the same facts. However, the OLAF may support the EPPO and may inform the office of its intent in conducting parallel complementary investigations.
[1] Eppo Europa, Petr Klement appointed Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, 2023
[2] European Anti-Fraud Office press release, EPPO and OLAF working arrangement: ensuring no case goes undetected, 2021
[3] Ibidem