Last summer
\nLaura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed as head of the National Anti-Corruption
\nDirectorate. President Klaus Iohannis had to sign a decree in this respect,
\nafter the Constitutional Court took away his right to oppose the dismissal
\nproposal made by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The head of
\nstate had originally rejected the proposal as ungrounded, a view shared by the
\nHigher Council of Magistracy, whose opinion however is only advisory. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Today,
\nprosecutor Kovesi, whose work has been constantly praised in the European
\nCommission’s reports on the Romanian justice system, is in pole position in the
\nrace for the top position in the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office. She
\ngot the most votes following hearings in the European Parliament’s Committee on
\nCivil Liberties. Codruta Kovesi says this is not only a personal achievement:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Laura Codruta Kovesi: This vote is not only for me, but for the
\nRomanian justice system as a whole. This vote is for all the citizens in Romania
\nwho over the past few years have supported the fight against corruption and the
\nrule of law. It is a vote for all the prosecutors and judges in Europe who work
\nunder pressure. I had no support from the Government of Romania, I have neither
\nasked for it nor expected it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
No serious
\nanalyst would have suspected Kovesi of being so na\u00efve as to hope for support
\nfrom a Government that not only denies her merits, but goes as far as to see
\nher as the champion of alleged abuse by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The negative
\nvotes cast by the Romanian MEPs from the Social Democratic Party and the
\nAlliance of Liberals and Democrats are tale-telling. The Social Democratic
\nSenator Claudiu Manda said that his fellow MEPs from the same party voted
\nagainst Kovesi’s appointment as European Chief Prosecutor because they know
\nabout the abuse she had perpetrated in Romania.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is a perfect example coming from the
\nEuropean Parliament, which very generously teaches us that politics must not
\ninterfere in the judicial system, but today they are displaying a perfect case
\nof political interference with the judiciary, the leader of the Alliance of
\nLiberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu Tariceanu said in his turn.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On the other
\nhand, for the National Liberal Party in opposition, the vote is a victory for
\nRomania in the European Parliament, whereas Save Romania Union sees it as one
\nmore blow received by the ruling coalition from the EU. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The next step is
\na political decision, negotiated by the Council of the EU with the European
\nParliament. The EPPO, expected to be up and running in 2020, will be an
\nindependent body in charge with investigating and prosecuting crimes against
\nthe EU budget, including fraud, corruption or cross-border VAT fraud of over 10
\nmillion euro. It will be based in Luxembourg and will consist of a chief
\nprosecutor and prosecutors from all participating member states. The EPPO chief
\nwill have a 7-year term in office.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The former chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, is in the lead for becoming the first-ever chief of the European Public Prosecutors Office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":80860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31801,30138,31078],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-80859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-eppo","tag-kovesi","tag-luxembourg"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n