The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) continues to push back over the failure to renew the mandates of three delegated European prosecutors for five years rather than two, with the matter potentially heading to the European Court of Justice — as Laura Kövesi had implied during her most recent visit to Greece. This follows an appeal filed by EPPO’s chief prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, before the Administrative Plenary of the Areopagus (Greece’s Supreme Court), challenging the decision to renew the mandates of three delegated prosecutors for only two years instead of five.
The appeal is set to be ruled upon next week, and should it be rejected, a further appeal to the European Court of Justice remains a distinct possibility. This development came in response to the Supreme Judicial Council’s decision to grant only a two-year — rather than a five-year — renewal of the mandates of Popi Papandreou, Chariklia Thanou, and Dionysios Mouzakis.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office: What Laura Kövesi is demanding
According to sources, however, the appeal notes that there is no applicable legal remedy available against the Supreme Court’s decision — a fact that, as judicial sources point out, will most likely result in its dismissal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council is set to convene tomorrow to select three new European delegated prosecutors — one from the Court of Appeals and two from the Court of First Instance — who will reinforce the Greek branch of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, as previously requested by Laura Kövesi. The Council will also decide on a new financial prosecutor, following the promotion of Panagiotis Kapsimalis to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Areopagus.
