On January 23, Public Prosecution Offices within Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) with jurisdictional powers representing several countries gathered at the Multilateral PPO Meeting. Organized by the Public Prosecution Office within the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (MPTCU), the meeting was attended by prosecutor general Cristina Machado da Costa e Silva, prosecutor Rodrigo Medeiros de Lima, and representatives from the Public Prosecution Offices of Congo, France, Italy, Morocco, and Panama. 

The meeting aimed to strengthen ties between Public Prosecution Offices and to enhance the international cooperation on topics related to the institutions' areas of expertise. The selected topics had the purpose of improving activities focused on the public interest, effective management, and public governance.  

The meeting began with the MPTCU prosecutor general, Cristina Machado, highlighting the importance of the dialogue and exchange of experience that has been established between Public Prosecution Offices of several countries since the XXI International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI), held in November of 2022 in Rio de Janeiro.  

Machado addressed the ongoing negotiations to create a new international organization. "The goal is to bring together supreme audit institutions with jurisdictional powers, such as the TCU, with the possibility of creating a specific committee on the Public Prosecution Offices. Such committee could turn into an important forum to address issues of interest to these Offices," explained Machado. 

Prosecutor Rodrigo Medeiros de Lima was in charge of MPTCU’s presentation. He discussed the climate crisis and the need for Public Prosecution Offices to take on a relevant role in following up related public policies and in demanding maximum adherence to the political commitments made by countries through international treaties and national legislations. 

"These commitments have gained greater normative density, which gives control agencies more room to enforce them. Public Prosecution Offices, as observers of legal compliance, can act centrally, demanding from governments more transparency in their actions and more concerted efforts when normative standards are not met," he said. 

Medeiros de Lima highlighted the importance of a synergy between the work carried out by Prosecution Offices and the global effort made by SAIs of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) regarding the ClimateScanner project. 

As the meeting progressed, representatives from other countries' Public Prosecution Offices mentioned opportunities for cooperation on topics such as anti-corruption efforts, investigative methods, and repressive policies.