MEPs discussed, Thursday 24 June, in plenary session, with representatives of the European Commission and the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council the urgent need to finalise the appointments of the European Delegated Prosecutors so that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which officially started operating on 1 June (see EUROPE 12731/2), can function effectively.
In particular, MEPs criticised the Slovenian government’s attitude, which cancelled the ongoing selection procedure (see EUROPE 12707/31), and expressed wider concerns about recent abuses of freedom of expression in the country (see EUROPE 12687/1), just days before the start of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.
According to MEP Klemen Grošelj (Renew Europe, Slovenia), the lack of nomination is “another provocative decision by Janez Janša’s government”, which constitutes “another blow to the Rule of law in Slovenia”.
By attacking the independence of the judiciary, the Slovenian Prime Minister is following in the footsteps of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, Germany).
“Prime Minister Janša is abusing his powers to prevent the European Prosecutor from working in Slovenia. He is doing this not because something went wrong in the selection procedure or because something is wrong with the two candidates (...), he is doing this out of a personal vendetta. Because one of the two candidates has previously investigated him personally”, he said.
EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, once again regretted the missing appointments (see EUROPE 12735/5), recalling that the European Delegated Prosecutors are “the cornerstone of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office”, ensuring that it is properly represented before national courts.
“In December, last year, the State prosecutorial Council submitted the names of two candidates to the Slovenian Minister of Justice, but the government has not put the item on the agenda of its sessions, despite the legal obligation to only take note and transmit the names to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. On 27 May, the government declared the selection procedure as unsuccessful and instructed the Minister of Justice to publish a new vacancy”, he said. This decision led to the resignation of the Slovenian Minister of Justice, Lilijana Kozlovič, in the aftermath.
The Commission sent a letter to the new Slovenian Minister of Justice, Marjan Dikaučič, on Thursday, expressing its concerns and asking for an explanation of the reasons for dropping the procedure. Furthermore, the institution intends to verify that the new appointment procedure to be initiated will be fully transparent and will guarantee the independence of the proposed Delegated Prosecutors.
“Let me reassure you that the Commission will take all the appropriate measures to ensure that all the Delegated Prosecutors will be in place as soon as possible”, concluded Didier Reynders. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)