The Council of the European Union (Economic and Financial Affairs) is set to adopt a regulation on 10 July 2026 that will grant the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) access to VAT information at EU level. The legislative act, approved by Coreper (Part 2) on 1 July 2026, is based on a Commission proposal under the special legislative procedure and aims to strengthen the fight against VAT fraud.
The regulation will enable EPPO and OLAF to access EU-level VAT data, enhancing their ability to detect and investigate cross-border VAT fraud schemes. This move is expected to improve coordination between national tax authorities and EU bodies, potentially recovering billions of euros lost to fraud annually. The adoption follows a series of preparatory steps, including the examination of relevant documents (9846/26 and 8887/26) by the Council's working parties.
The regulation represents a significant step in EU efforts to combat tax fraud, which costs Member States an estimated €50 billion per year in lost VAT revenue. By providing EPPO and OLAF with direct access to VAT information, the EU aims to streamline investigations and reduce the administrative burden on national authorities. The measure is expected to have a moderate impact on stakeholders, including national tax authorities, which will need to adapt their data-sharing procedures, and businesses, which may face increased scrutiny but benefit from a more level playing field. The regulation will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.