On Friday 28 May, the European Commission was concerned about the Slovenian authorities’ decision to cancel the appointment procedure of the two Slovenian European Delegated Prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and asked them to make these appointments “as a matter of urgency”.
Slovenia and Finland are the last two Member States among the 22 EU countries participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office that have not appointed an European Delegated Prosecutor.
On Thursday 27 May, Laura Kövesi, European Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, had some harsh words for Slovenia, which will also hold the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July. “We haven’t been set up to allow anyone to put cases in a drawer. The EPPO can start operations without Slovenian European Delegated Prosecutors. But this means that the level of protection of the financial interests of the EU will decrease in Slovenia”, she said in a statement. She added, “The manifest lack of sincere cooperation from the Slovenian authorities with the EPPO seriously undermines the trust in the effective functioning of the management and control systems for EU funds in Slovenia”.
However, this situation does not call into question the official start of the work of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office on 1 June (see EUROPE 12727/7). There are “temporary solutions for such circumstances”, said a Commission spokesperson, Christian Wigand.
Hungary, Poland, and Sweden have decided not to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will investigate cases of fraud and offences against the EU’s financial interests. Denmark and Ireland benefit from an ‘opt out’ in the area of freedom, security and justice. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)