On Friday 9 October, the European Commission asked the Member States to finalise the final preparations for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to take up its duties, as soon as possible. The topic was on the agenda of the meeting of EU Justice Ministers, in the presence of the Chief Prosecutor, Laura Codruța Kövesi.
“The European Public Prosecutor’s Office will play a key role in protecting the EU budget and the Next Generation EU (...) Every euro of the Next Generation EU should be spent on getting Europe out of this crisis”, stated the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, at a press conference after the meeting.
Asked about a possible delay in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office taking up its duties at the end of November 2020, the Commissioner assured listeners that the objective remained to be operational this year, acknowledging nevertheless that there were a few final points to be settled. Indeed, he has recently written to the Member States participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office urging them to speed up the remaining preparations.
The bilateral discussions between Ms Kövesi and the national authorities on the appointment of delegated European Public Prosecutors for each Member State have not yet been concluded (see EUROPE 12570/7). The number of 140 delegated prosecutors has been decreed, the Commissioner said, as Ms Kövesi had wished. But, according to our information, discussions are stalled over their status, in particular whether they will all work full-time for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Commission is also closely monitoring the transposition of the PFI Directive on the protection of the EU’s financial interests, which is a precondition for the operational start of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (see EUROPE 12290/20). So far, 23 Member States have notified the Commission that they have transposed the Directive in its entirety, while three Member States - two of which are participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office - have declared that they have transposed it in part.
According to one source, during the discussion,Member States explained their internal procedures and showed a strong commitment to finish the preparations as soon as possible.
Concerns in the European Parliament
Inside the European Parliament, votes were cast on Friday on the EU Council decision on the appointment of 22 European Public Prosecutors (see EUROPE 12536/22).
MEPs Katalin Cseh (Renew Europe, Hungary), Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe, Romania), Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, Finland) and Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, Germany) have sent a priority written question to the EU Council asking it to explain why it chose to deviate from the selection committee’s choice of the Belgian, Bulgarian and Portuguese candidates and why it chose not to disclose the reasons.
"Although the EU Council is not legally bound by the independent panel’s ranking, such an action can raise concerns of political pressure on the selection process from national governments, especially if Council is not transparent about its reasons", explained the MEPs.
"The European Parliament has always fought for an independent selection panel for appointing European Prosecutors, being well aware of existing weaknesses regarding the rule of law in certain Member States. By disregarding the panel, national governments are undermining the credibility and the independence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office", regretted the Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control, Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, Germany), in a statement.
The German MEP is also asking the EU Council to shed light on the reasons for this decision. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)