EU Council confirms Romania's Kovesi as first European chief prosecutor

The Council of the European Union today agreed to the appointment of Laura Codruta Kovesi to be the first European chief prosecutor. The appointment must now also be confirmed by the European Parliament, according to a press statement released on Monday by the Council of the EU. 

Kovesi is currently a prosecutor within the Prosecutor's Office with Romania's Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation. She held various positions as prosecutor during her career in Romania. 

The EU Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is expected to start its operation in November 2020, based in Luxembourg. It will be an independent body of the European Union responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the Union (e.g. fraud, corruption, cross-border VAT fraud above 10 million euros). 

There are currently 22 Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain). 

The priority of the Council is that the EPPO is up and running by November 2020. Kovesi, as the first ever incumbent of this post, will have the task of setting up the EPPO from scratch. Her job over the 7 years of her mandate will in particular consist of building the administrative and operational structure of the office and establishing good working relations with national judiciary authorities. 'The Council will continue to monitor the setting up of the office to ensure we have an efficient and effective EPPO that becomes the cornerstone of our fight against fraud and corruption to the EU finances,' according to Anna-Maja Henriksson, minister of justice from the Finnish presidency of the EU Council.