The Spanish Public Prosecutor, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, together with Juan Fernando López Aguilar, the Chairman of the Committee on Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament, and Diego López Garrido, the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU, submitted a first draft to Brussels that the EU-27 will discuss in April.

The figure of the European public prosecutor, set out in the Treaty of Lisbon, would initially investigate fraud and speculation against the Euro; it could also investigate and initiate criminal proceedings against cross-border crimes such as people trafficking, drug trafficking or terrorism.

This is "the first step on a long journey" that the Spanish Presidency is anxious to begin as soon as possible, said Conde Pumpido as he presented the technical details on the possibility of setting up a Public Prosecutor's Office.

The Spanish Public Prosecutor explained that a European public ministry would carry out investigations to safeguard the interests of the monetary union more efficiently and would allow the work done by the bodies of national jurisdictions, as well as the European Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) and the European Anti-fraud Office to be better coordinated.

"The single currency needs a specific institution that protects the application of criminal law against fraud and speculation" said Conde Pumpido.

The creation of this new institution will be discussed for the first time at the meeting of ministers of justice and home affairs of the EU-27 that will take place in Luxembourg in April. The approval by the 27 Member States must be unanimous and must be approved by the European Parliament.

• Video: Presentation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office project