On Wednesday 27 May, the European Commission announced the transfer of Richard Sonnenschein to the Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers to take over as Acting Administrative Director of the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Before considering Mr Sonnenschein's candidature, the Commission had originally selected Sari Haukka, a Finnish lawyer who has worked for more than 20 years in the European institutions (see EUROPE 12458/26).
When asked why it had proposed another person for the post, the European Commission explained that, as the European Public Prosecutor's Office was in the final phase of its establishment, it considered that “an established senior official with a deep knowledge of the current internal administrative and budgetary workings of the Commission, as well as a good understanding of the challenges of the EPPO and its interactions with other services, would be best placed to carry out this mission”.
Richard Sonnenschein is currently a Principal Adviser for security in the Commission's Department of Human Resources and Security (DG HR) and has been since 2016.
Consulted on this appointment, the Council of the EU adopted a favourable opinion on Monday 25 May, following a written procedure (see EUROPE 12491/8). (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)