The European Parliament is requesting all documentation concerning the nominations for the European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) of the candidates from Belgium, Bulgaria and Portugal, where national ministers overruled the selection committee picks. In case of refusal, the Parliament will take the EU’s Council of Ministers to court, EURACTIV was told.
Last September, the College of EPPO was sworn before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The EPPO is the first independent European prosecution service, in charge of investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice offences affecting the EU’s financial interests.
However, the selection of the 22 national prosecutors, representing those EU countries that joined the initiative, did not pass without incident.
MEPs: Portugal risks undermining trust in EU prosecutor
EU justice commissioner Dider Reynders (l) and Portugal s justice minister Francisca Van Dunem at a pre-Covid council meeting in Brussels (Photo: Council of the European Union)
Brussels, 27. Jan, 07:10
MEPs quizzed the Portuguese justice minister on Tuesday (26 January) over Lisbon s push for a prosecutor to be appointed to the EU s prosecutor office (EPPO) contrary to the advice of a European expert panel.
Lawmakers on the joint meeting of the civil liberties and budget control committee warned that concerns over the appointment of the Portuguese prosecutor could undermine the new EU s prosecutors office.
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