New European Chief Prosecutor: First results will come in two-three years

Romanian Laura Codruta Kovesi, the first European Chief Prosecutor, expects the first results of her work to show in two-three years. Kovesi will start, on November 4, as the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Luxembourg, where she will coordinate a team of prosecutors from EU member states who will investigate fraud and corruption in the use of EU funds.

“I think there will be very high expectations once the institution effectively starts working on cases,” Kovesi, told Reuters in an interview. “But I think people must understand that credible results will come in two, three years, once final verdicts from courts start coming in.”

The EU budget for the 2021-2027 period is nearly EUR 160 billion, Reuters points out. Between 2002 and 2016, the EU lost close to EUR 9 billion to tax fraud, a report by the European Court of Auditors said earlier this year.

Laura Codruta Kovesi, who led Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) from 2013 until 2018, has to organize the EPPO, which is due to be launched in 2020. The EPPO will be investigating and pressing criminal charges in cases crossing the EU’s internal borders, particularly those affecting the budget since November 2017.

“Much of the EPPO’s efficacy will depend on Kovesi’s ability to convince member states to give it the prosecutors and resources it needs,” Reuters notes.

“For now, my main concern is to ensure the institution has the budget and resources it needs to work,” Kovesi concluded.

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