On 20 May, the EU Council drew lots for eight countries whose European prosecutors will have a three-year term of office instead of 6 years, which is non-renewable, in the future European Public Prosecutor's Office.
The minutes of a meeting of the EU Council's Working Party on Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN), published on 22 May, indicate that Austria, Spain, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Cyprus have been drawn by lot.
The founding regulation of the European Public Prosecutor's Office provides for a partial renewal of one third of European public prosecutors every 3 years. It was therefore necessary to define which countries would have a shorter mandate to start this rotation, explained a European source.
In its implementing decision of 9 April 2019 on the transitional rules governing the appointment of European Prosecutors for the first mandate period, the EU Council provided that the selection would be made by drawing lots. The procedure was conducted by a representative of the EU Council's Legal Service, under the supervision of the General Secretariat of the EU Council and the Commission.
Not all Member States have yet sent their three proposals for candidates for the post of European Public Prosecutor for their country, the same source said on Wednesday 29 May. The selection committee began analysing the applications in mid-April and is expected to give its opinion on the candidates in September. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)