Commenting on his appointment, Mr van Dam said: ‘Combating international organised crime can only be successful if countries work closely together. Eurojust is facilitating this important cooperation. Over the coming years, as the Dutch National Member, my desk and I will show commitment to fulfil the important work of Eurojust, with EU Member States as well as third countries.’

Prior to his appointment at Eurojust, the new National Member worked last year as Resident EU Prosecutor in Belgrade, Serbia, under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) programme. Before taking up his current role, in 2019 and 2020 Mr van Dam worked as Acting Director of the National Prosecution Service, following his time as Prosecutor General for the Dutch country of Aruba between 2016 and 2019.

Previously, the new National Member for the Netherlands was Deputy Chief Prosecutor in the district Zeeland/West-Brabant and senior prosecutor and magistrate in the districts of Amsterdam, The Hague and Haarlem. Before joining the prosecution services, between 1994 and 1999 Mr van Dam was a financial analyst in the Dutch Security Service AIVD, following a two-year traineeship with banking company ABN Mees Pierson in London and Amsterdam.

Mr van Dam (56) graduated in 1990 with a Master of Law in Civil Law, International and European Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In 2012, he obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration at the Netherlands School of Public Administration (NSOB). Over the years, Mr van Dam has built up extensive international experience, for instance in cases concerning terrorism and financial investigations.