Romanian Kövesi: EU Parliament wins power struggle for future head of the EU prosecutor

For months, the dispute has been between the Council of EU States and the European Parliament. But now the governments of the member states have turned in: on Thursday morning their EU ambassadors agreed on Laura Kövesi as head of the planned European Public Prosecutor's Office.

With this they have turned in the power struggle with the parliament, which had last supported Kövesi massively. In addition, the election meant a bitter defeat for the Romanian government, which had tried by all means to prevent the election Kövesis.

Previously, it had looked a long time like the Frenchman Jean-François Bohnert would make the race:

• In the Council of the EU countries, the 54-year-old had a clear majority: in a vote in February, he received 50 points, Kövesi and the German Andrés Ritter only 29 points.
• In the European Parliament, which has to agree with the staff at the end, Kövesi was ahead, but only just in the committee responsible, she received 26 votes, Bohnert 22.

After months of back and forth, France signaled, according to EU diplomats, its willingness to drop Bohnert and vote for Kövesi. With that the question was decided; in the end, 17 out of the 22 countries involved in the European Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) were in favor of proposing Kövesi to parliament. His approval may now be considered safe. What ambassadors for the 46-year-old and who were against them is unclear, since the election is a secret. But observers believe it is likely that Germany has voted for the Romanian.

Romania's strategy became a pipe-breaker

According to insiders, the decisive factor for Kövesi was the behavior of the Romanian government. While one member state normally supports its own candidates for high EU posts, Kövesi's opposite was the case: the government in Bucharest absolutely wanted to prevent them - and even awarded them an exit ban.

Kövesi has made a name in her homeland as a courageous anti-corruption fighter. From 2013 to 2018, she led the anti-corruption unit of the Romanian Public Prosecutor's Office before she was deposed in a controversial judicial reform of the Bucharest-ruling Social Democrats (PSD). The reform brought sharp criticism from Romania, including from the European Commission. Even the European Social Democrats froze their relations with the Romanian PSD.

For the EU Parliament, it has become a symbol of the fight against aspiring autocrats in the EU. MEPs signaled to the Council of the Member States that they would not vote in favor of Bohnert, who was in favor there. Nevertheless, the council held for months to the Frenchman, before he now turned.

EU Public Prosecutor's Office will start work by 2020 at the earliest

By contrast, Romania's government remained unforgiving until the end. "We will not support Kövesi," said Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Wednesday evening. First, the investigation against Kövesi in Romania would have to be completed. She is accused of corruption, malpractice and false statements. Kövesi describes this as part of a campaign against her.

A delegation from the Council of EU Member States is expected to meet representatives of the Parliament next week to inform them of the outcome of the vote.

After that, the hitherto informal vote must once again be confirmed by the Member States. The European Public Prosecutor's Office is due to start working in late 2020 or early 2021, initially focusing on EU money-related crimes.