Although the candidate selection committee for the post of Chief of the European Prosecutor’s Office has just been set up (see EUROPE 12093) and the job vacancy still requires publication in the EU Official Journal, it is the issue of the retirement age that is currently occupying the attention of the co-legislators.
On Monday 17 September, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU (Coreper) approved the joint draft declaration with the European parliament explaining that “candidates shall be able to complete the non-renewable term of 7 years before reaching the age of retirement, which at the latest is the last day of the month in which the Chief Prosecutor reaches the age of 70” (see EUROPE 12090).
The regulation on the status of officials and the regime applicable to other EU agents effectively sets out the retirement age at 66 and stipulates that “when there is a justifiable reason for the service” an extension until the age of 67 can be made, which can in certain exceptional cases, be up to the age of 70.
According to the Commission's interpretation, this exceptional extension until 70 could in this case be automatic if it is necessary for the conclusion of the mandate.
The draft declaration confirms the intention of the co-legislators to appoint a Chief Prosecutor for a full term of 7 years and specifies that any extension of retirement age that may be necessary until the age of 70 will be deemed to have been granted, without the need to adopt subsequent annual decisions beyond the age of 66.
The text emphasises that “such renewed yearly decisions would undermine the independence of the European Chief Prosecutor and call into question the full length of the mandate”.
The draft text will be adopted without discussion in a backdrop to the Competitiveness Council on 28 and 29 September, before being sent to the European Parliament for its approval. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)