While negotiations on the appointment of the Head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office have stalled since April, after the abrupt interruption of talks between Parliament and EU Council negotiators (see EUROPE 12232/11), a new twist could restart the procedure from scratch.
On Friday 12 July, several media outlets announced that Frenchman Jean-François Bohnert, the candidate supported by the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 12198/1), was dropping out of the race because of his appointment to another key position in France, namely that of Head of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office.
However, Mr. Bohnert has not confirmed that he is withdrawing his candidacy and no formal notification has yet been sent to the EU Council, a French source claimed on Monday 15 July.
On Monday, on Twitter, British MEP Claude Moraes (S&D), who was a negotiator for the European Parliament, stressed that Mr Bohnert remained a candidate until the official notification in Paris and recalled that the process "demands full negotiations with 2 candidates".
If Mr Bohnert effectively withdrew his application, Romania's Laura Codruţa Kovësi would remain in the running, supported by the Parliament (see EUROPE 12203/7), but also the German candidate, Andrés Ritter - who finished third in the Parliamentary selection and tied for second place with the Romanian candidate in the EU Council ranking - could then re-enter the race.
According to a European source, the Selection Committee could also be asked to choose a third candidate (see EUROPE 12093/20). Indeed, the founding regulation of the European Public Prosecutor's Office provides that the Selection Committee must present to the co-legislators a short list of candidates comprising between three and five personalities. However, it does not specify whether this requirement applies only at the beginning of the negotiations or throughout the process.
The procedure could also be completely restarted from scratch on the part of the EU Council, a diplomatic source said on Friday, considering it likely that Mr Bohnert would accept the post in France, but also that Mr Ritter could accept a key post in Germany. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana and Mathieu Bion)