The
\nEuropean Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has officially started its activity
\nin a formal sitting before the Court of Justice of the European Union in
\nLuxembourg on Monday. The newly founded body is headed by Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi,
\nthe former director of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I solemnly
\nundertake to be completely independent in carrying out my responsibilities, in
\nthe interest of the Union as a whole, and neither to seek nor take instructions
\nfrom any person or entity external to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
\nI further undertake to comply with the duty of confidentiality, as regards all
\ninformation held by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This was the
\nsolemn oath taken by K\u00f6vesi and the other European prosecutors, which include
\nanother Romanian, C\u0103t\u0103lin-Lauren\u0163iu Borcoman. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The European Public Prosecutor’s
\nOffice is an independent body of the European Union charged with investigating,
\nprosecuting and taking to court crimes that infringe on the EU’s financial
\ninterests, such as corruption or cross-border VAT fraud that result in a
\nprejudice exceeding \u20ac10 million. To this end, the EPPO, which will be headquartered
\nin Luxembourg, is conducting investigations and prosecutions working with the
\nrelevant courts of law in member states. The EPPO presently has 22 adhering
\nmembers: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,
\nFinland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
\nNetherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Slovenia. Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi
\ntold the El Pais daily that the
\ninstitution she is heading is a means of protecting the rule of law in the EU.
\nThe European official expressed hope to create an independent institution, to
\nprove no one is above the law. The activity of the EU chief prosecutor is
\ncentral to the credibility of the EU, especially amidst numerous cases of
\ncorruption reported in recent years in Spain, Bulgaria, Romania or Malta, or
\nagainst the backdrop of financial scandals in the Netherlands and Denmark or
\nattempts at undermining the law in Poland and Hungary, the Spanish newspaper
\nalso writes. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In Romania, Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi was removed from the helm of the
\nAnti-Corruption Directorate two years ago, following a request of the Justice
\nMinister at the time, Tudorel Toader. The Minister claimed K\u00f6vesi’s actions go
\nagainst the rule of law. Highly controversial at the time and harshly
\ncriticized by the opposition, the decision to sack K\u00f6vesi caused a public
\nuproar. Recently, Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi has won a court case at the European
\nCourt of Human Rights, where she challenged the decision to remove her from
\noffice before the expiry of her mandate. The ECHR unanimously ruled that Laura
\nCodru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi had been denied her rights to fair trial and freedom of speech.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated
\nby V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi will be heading one of the most important institutions of the European Union<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":86770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31801,29799],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-86769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-eppo","tag-laura-codruta-kovesi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n