Laura Codruta Kovesi will become
\nthe first head of the European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The European
\nParliament on Tuesday reached a final agreement with the Council of the
\nEuropean Union with respect to Kovesi’s appointment. Negotiations started this
\nspring, with Parliament backing Kovesi’s candidacy all throughout the talks,
\ndespite some opposition of EU ministers initially. Ms K\u00f6vesi is the perfect
\nchoice to become EU Chief Prosecutor. She has excellent professional
\ncompetences. Moreover, Romania does not currently hold any key posts in the EU.
\nShe will be one of the strong women leading in the EU from now on, Spanish
\nMPJuan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, the chairman of the European Parliament’s Civil
\nLiberties Committee said. We are very pleased that Ms Laura K\u00f6vesi will
\nbe leading the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office. She corresponds best to
\nthe European Parliament’s vision of a strong and credible EPPO. Ms K\u00f6vesi is
\nextremely competent, with an impressive record of achievements in fighting
\ncorruption with remarkable resilience and great courage, the Budget Control
\nCommittee Chair Monika Hohlmeier in turn said. Last week, the Committee of
\nPermanent Representatives in the European Union voted for Kovesi’s appointment
\nas European chief prosecutor. At the time, the former head of the National
\nAnticorruption Directorate said the vote is the effort of people who have
\nsupported the fight against corruption. Laura Codruta Kovesi.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I believe we should understand
\nthis vote as an achievement of all Romanians who in recent years have supported
\nthe fight against corruption and upheld the rule of law and European values. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The agreement over the appointment
\nof Kovesi as European chief prosecutor must now be made official by the
\nEuropean Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Brussels says the
\nEPPO will be able to investigate, prosecute and bring to court any offences
\nagainst the EU budget, such as tax evasion, corruption and major cross-border
\nVAT fraud. The agency, which is set to start its activity next year, is meant
\nto make up for the EU’s shortcomings in terms of combating crime. The European
\nAntifraud Office (OLAF) is the only independent agency investigating European
\nfund fraud, but it cannot prosecute cases, it can only make recommendations to
\nnational authorities. 22 states have signed up for the European Prosecutor’s
\nOffice, including Romania. Sacked from the helm of the National Anticorruption
\nDirectorate in June last year, Laura Codruta Kovesi has been repeatedly praised
\nfor her activity as a prosecutor, which led to the conviction of important
\nministers, mayors and MPs. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The former head of the National Anticorruption Directorate is one step away from being appointed the chief of the European Prosecutor’s Office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":80860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31801,29406,29799],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-83047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-eppo","tag-european-parliament","tag-laura-codruta-kovesi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n