On Friday 8 February in Bucharest, the Austrian Minister of Justice, Josef Moser, openly supported the candidacy of Romanian Laura Codruţa Kövesi to head the future European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in charge of combating fraud involving European funds, although this appointment is controversial in Romania and is not supported by the Romanian Minister of Justice, Tudorel Toader.
This appointment was not on the agenda of the informal meeting of EU Justice Ministers, stressed both Mr Toader and European Commissioner Věra Jourová. When questioned by the press, the Romanian minister simply recalled that his position was "known” [he is opposed to it, editor's note] and that he stood by it.
The Commissioner did not want to comment on the profile of the Romanian candidate, recalling that it is up to a simple majority of the EU Council and the European Parliament to decide, in theory by March.
Stressing that the rule of law is a key principle in the EU, Mr Moser noted that Ms Codruţa Kövesi, the former head of Romania's anti-corruption department, who was dismissed when Viorica Dăncilă’s government took office, had successfully passed various selection stages and was now in a good position in a final list of three candidates. The Austrian minister confirmed that he would lend his voice to this candidacy.
The Selection Committee (see EUROPE 12093) transmitted, on Monday 4 February, its short list of 3 candidates for the post of Head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Among the 11 candidates short-listed and called for interviews at the end of January (see EUROPE 12182), Ms Codruţa Kövesi is in the lead, followed by the French Prosecutor General, Jean-François Bohnert, and the German Andrés Ritter.
Romania is in a difficult position. While the title of Head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office is prestigious, the appointment of Ms Codruţa Kövesi would take place in a context of deep criticism of the Romanian Social Democratic government's judicial practices.
The European Commission has not launched an Article 7 procedure on respect for the rule of law against the Romanian authorities, but has raised new concerns in November 2018 under its Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (see EUROPE 12136).
It did issue new recommendations to Bucharest to strengthen the judicial system and to ensure its independence, and "these recommendations would not have been made if we were not convinced that Romania would implement them", said Ms Jourová.
The first Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, met Ms Dăncilă on Thursday 7 February in Brussels. It was agreed to continue the dialogue on the rule of law, which should serve to restore Romanian citizens' confidence in their judicial institutions, Ms Jourová added. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Marion Fontana)