Negotiations to pick the first EU public prosecutor are deadlocked after talks between national governments and the European Parliament broke down Thursday over the candidacy of Romania's former anti-corruption chief.

MEPs called on national governments, represented in the Council of the EU, to throw their support behind Laura Codruța Kövesi in light of repeated efforts by the Romanian government to sabotage her bid to get the job.

“We can’t show right before the EU election that a member state can get away with this blackmail," Judith Sargentini, a Green MEP from the Netherlands who is part of the Parliament's negotiating team, told POLITICO after a third around of talks ended without agreement.

EU governments back French candidate Jean-François Bohnert as their top choice. To be appointed, a candidate needs the support of both the Parliament and the Council.

Whoever takes on the powerful new post as the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), set to launch by the end of 2020, will be charged with prosecuting crimes linked to the EU budget such as fraud, corruption and money laundering.

Romanian authorities dramatically stepped up their campaign against Kövesi last week.

Romania’s government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, has actively lobbied against Kövesi, who was the country’s high-profile anti-corruption chief until she was fired last year. The government said she was dismissed because she broke the law. Opposition politicians and anti-corruption activists say the ruling Social Democrats forced Kövesi out because she had secured a long string of convictions against leading politicians.

Romanian authorities dramatically stepped up their campaign against Kövesi last week. The Special Section for the Investigation of Magistrates, a body established by the government, ordered her to be prosecuted in a case involving allegations of offenses including bribery, false testimony and abuse of office.

“The obstruction Ms Kövesi is currently facing from the Romanian authorities highlights her courage and her independence, which both are crucial requirements for the efficient functioning of the EPPO," Sargentini said in a separate statement.

The campaign against Kövesi takes place amid growing international concern about the state of the rule of law in Romania under the current government.

On Wednesday, the United States, Germany, France and nine other countries warned Bucharest not to pass emergency laws that risk weakening the justice system and the fight against corruption. The European Commission sent a similar message.

But an EU diplomat suggested the decision on the prosecutor should focus on the candidates' individual qualities, rather than any political storms around their nominations.

"In the end, the person will be judged based on what they do," the diplomat said.

"We are still appointing a person for the job for the next seven years," the diplomat added. "We need to have a long-term vision when it comes to EPPO."

But Ingeborg Gräßle, a German MEP from the European People's Party who is also part of the Parliament's negotiating team, said that "we cannot accept the fact that the Council cedes to the pressure of the Romanian government to support a much weaker candidate."

With MEPs beginning to wrap up their work in Brussels ahead of May's European Parliament election, the developments risk delaying the appointment of the new EPPO chief.

A final round of talks was supposed to take place on April 10 but a last-minute Brexit summit scheduled for that day has thrown a spanner into the works.

The Council suggested April 12 as an alternative, the EU diplomat said, but Parliament did not accept it.

Instead, MEPs want Council to bring the issue back to EU ambassadors and reconsider their opinion in light of Kövesi's indictment last week, which she says is part of a campaign of harassment and intimidation to sabotage her bid to get the job.

“Given the high running emotions, perhaps it would be wise for everyone to first cool off” — An EU diplomat

"That changes everything," Sargentini said.

But a senior EU diplomat said the Council "can’t procedurally" change its top pick for the EPPO job.

The first diplomat said: "Council cannot have a position on a judicial development in a country on a specific person — MEPs can do that."

Sargentini also said one option would be to appoint Bohnert as EPPO deputy chief, but the first diplomat said that would not be possible since the EPPO itself would choose who occupies that post.

“Given the high running emotions, perhaps it would be wise for everyone to first cool off,” said a third EU diplomat. “And perhaps afterwards there’s a bit of space to think … again.”