Romania’s former anti-corruption chief adamant about winning the bid to become first EU prosecutor, despite Brussels politicking
6341 Min Read
As a prosecutor, Laura Codruța Kövesi has gone after top politicians, powerful businessmen and corrupt judges. She’s not going to be fazed by a bit of Brussels politicking.
POLITICO reports that Kövesi, Romania’s former anti-corruption chief, is one of two remaining candidates to be the European Union’s first public prosecutor, tasked with investigating crimes linked to the EU budget, such as fraud, corruption and money laundering.
She is at the center of a power struggle between the European Parliament, which has backed her for the job, and the Council of the EU, made up of member governments, which prefers rival French candidate Jean-François Bohnert. Extraordinarily, her own government has tried to sabotage her chances, accusing her of conducting a witch hunt against politicians.
Negotiations between the two institutions are expected to resume once the new European Parliament is up and running after last month’s election. For some diplomats in Brussels, the best way to resolve the impasse would be for the EU to unite around Bohnert, as he also received strong support from members of the European Parliament and does not face the problem of opposition from his home government.
But, in an interview with POLITICO, Kövesi made clear she wants to fight on.
