The European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, sent a letter to the European Commission on Wednesday 16 February, in which she points to “Poland’s refusal to cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office”.
She says Poland has rejected all requests for judicial cooperation from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office since it became operational. In particular, Ms Kövesi denounced the fact that Poland had made the signing of a working arrangement with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office conditional on the approval of an amendment to the Polish Criminal procedure code, which would recognise the European Public Prosecutor’s Office as a competent authority.
This refusal to cooperate prevents the European Public Prosecutor’s Office from carrying out its transnational investigations, she says in her letter.
The Chief Prosecutor considered it her duty to pass on this information to the Commission under the rules of the conditionality mechanism, which requires the Commission to receive relevant information from recognised institutions.
Finally, she notes that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is working on 23 investigations involving Poland, making it the first non-participating country to be targeted. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)