European Public Prosecutor’s Office: What is happening with the Greek “European prosecutors” and the renewal of their terms

Laura Kövesi, who is arriving successful Athens connected Wednesday, the German successor, and Popi Papandreou – The instauration has been operating since 2021 for fiscal crimes successful the EU and 24 countries enactment – Prosecutors beryllium to nationalist justness systems but are accountable to the EU – When the continuation of Papandreou’s word volition beryllium decided

When, successful June 2021, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office began its operational function, undertaking its archetypal investigations into offenses affecting the fiscal interests of the European Union, it had already been described arsenic 1 of the astir ambitious projects of judicial practice astatine the European level.

Today, however, the operation, limits, and competencies of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office are erstwhile again astatine the forefront of nationalist debate, pursuing the lawsuit files concerning OPEKEPE that were forwarded to Parliament.

In fact, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis described the European Public Prosecutor’s Office arsenic a “non-serious institution” that could beryllium abolished by law, portion claiming that European authoritative Popi Papandreou, who on with her workfellow Dionysis Mouzakis is conducting investigations into imaginable irregularities and fraud involving EU cultivation subsidies, is exerting unit regarding the renewal of her term.

Georgiadis: European authoritative Popi Papandreou brought the OPEKEPE lawsuit files

Within this context, the questions surrounding the cognition of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office summation adjacent greater importance: How does it behaviour its investigations? How is its narration with nationalist judicial systems defined? Which assemblage decides connected the renewal of the presumption of European prosecutors? Can Greece so abolish this comparatively caller instauration by law, contempt having played a starring relation successful its establishment?

The strategy

The scope of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office includes crimes against the fiscal interests of the EU: from amerciable EU subsidies to allegations involving NGOs and corruption of nationalist officials.

The caput of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the College of European Prosecutors—composed of 1 European authoritative per subordinate state—are based successful Luxembourg and beryllium astatine the apical of the hierarchy, arsenic they acceptable strategy and oversee cases.

At the aforesaid time, successful each subordinate authorities determination are delegated European prosecutors who execute orders to behaviour transgression investigations and besides enactment successful the adjudication of related cases earlier nationalist courts.

National European prosecutors are integrated into nationalist justness systems but study straight to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office successful Luxembourg, wherever they are seconded. Today, according to the EPPO’s 2025 report, 24 subordinate states enactment successful this recently established institution.

Greece joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office successful 2021, and successful implementation of the European regulation, Law 4786/2021 was passed by Parliament. The Greek bureau successful Athens began operations connected June 1, 2021, and contiguous is staffed by 9 delegated European prosecutors moving nether the supervision of the Greek European authoritative Nikos Paschalis, who is based successful Luxembourg.

The Greek European prosecutors successful Athens are appellate prosecutors Evgenia Kyvelou, Eleni Siskou, Kalliopi Daggianta, arsenic good arsenic first-instance prosecutors Popi Papandreou, Charikleia Thanou, Dionysis Mouzakis, Antonia Georgiou, Thomaï Emmanouilidou, and Stavroula Dousi. The caput of the European prosecutors’ bureau successful Athens is Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Eleni Karkampouna.

Universal recognition

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office began operating nether the enactment of Romanian Laura Kövesi, who was selected arsenic Chief Prosecutor by the Council of the European Union, successful statement with the European Parliament. It is noteworthy that her candidacy for this apical presumption had initially stalled, arsenic respective subordinate states had taken a antagonistic stance, choosing to enactment the French candidate.

The word of Romanian Laura Kövesi arsenic Chief Prosecutor ends successful September

This did not yet happen, arsenic Kövesi—having succeeded successful bringing mayors, MPs, and ministers successful Romania progressive successful corruption cases to justice—gained wide designation successful respective European capitals. However, astatine the extremity of this coming September, she volition measurement down from the enactment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the baton volition walk for six years to 62-year-old German Andreas Ritter.

He is simply a authoritative described arsenic mean and an adept successful fiscal transgression and cross-border cases. Ritter has been astatine the European Public Prosecutor’s Office since 2020 arsenic Germany’s delegated European authoritative and is truthful considered an insider with acquisition successful however it operates.

Laura Kövesi volition beryllium succeeded by 62-year-old German Andreas Ritter

The visit

Prosecutor Popi Papandreou was appointed delegated European authoritative successful 2021 and has served successful that relation ever since. Whether she volition proceed successful the presumption volition beryllium decided by the Supreme Judicial Council for Civil and Criminal Justice, which is expected to convene successful May, though the nonstop day has not yet been set.

Prosecutor Popi Papandreou was appointed delegated European authoritative successful 2021 and has served successful that relation ever since

The contented of the duration of the presumption of European prosecutors successful Greece, however, has a past and dates backmost to past October, erstwhile Kövesi visited Greece and met with the Minister and Deputy Minister of Justice Giorgos Floridis and Ioannis Bougas, respectively, the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, and the Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis.

After her sojourn to the Ministry of Justice, the European Chief Prosecutor requested the strengthening of the Greek subdivision of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office with 3 further prosecutors and six administrative staff, portion besides referring to the request to widen the presumption of definite Greek European prosecutors.

Subsequently visiting the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Konstantinos Tzavellas, Kövesi reportedly stated that she intends to renew the presumption of definite Greek delegated European prosecutors, expressing the presumption that she has the authorization to assistance specified extensions.

According to the aforesaid information, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court reserved his effect connected the contented of word extensions, noting that this authorization belongs to the Supreme Judicial Council, though nary further enactment was taken astatine the time.

Indeed, 1 period later, successful November, pursuing a connection by Kövesi, the College of European Prosecutors successful Luxembourg unanimously decided to widen by 5 years the presumption of definite delegated European prosecutors, connected the grounds that they were handling investigations that had not yet been completed.

Kövesi volition instrumentality to Greece this Wednesday, April 22, to enactment successful the Delphi Economic Forum and volition clasp a property conference.

Extensions granted

The prosecutors whose presumption were extended travel from France, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Greece.

Specifically for Greece, among those granted extensions are Papandreou, arsenic good arsenic her colleagues Charikleia Thanou and Dionysis Mouzakis. The presumption of the 3 Greek prosecutors expire astatine the extremity of the existent judicial year, connected June 30, and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court, arsenic required by law, has already since past December issued a telephone for expressions of involvement to capable these positions.

However, Kövesi’s determination to widen the presumption of the 3 Greek prosecutors raised issues of a dual nature, some law and legal. This is because, firstly, the Constitution assigns exclusive authorization implicit promotions and transfers of judges and prosecutors to the Supreme Judicial Council for Civil and Criminal Justice, which includes, among others, the President of the Supreme Court Anastasia Papadopoulou (as chair) and the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Konstantinos Tzavellas.

Secondly, Law 4786/2021 connected the constitution of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office states successful Article 5 that “the enactment of projected candidates for assignment to the presumption of European authoritative is carried retired by the Supreme Judicial Council for Civil and Criminal Justice, successful accordance with the process of the Code of Organization of Courts and Status of Judicial Officers (Law 1756/1988).”

Consequently, arsenic elder prosecutorial officials argue, since the implementing instrumentality explicitly provides the method for selecting appointments to the presumption of European authoritative by the Supreme Judicial Council, by accusation the nationalist authorities are competent to determine connected the renewal oregon non-renewal of the presumption of Greek European prosecutors. Some adjacent stress that the Council cannot beryllium reduced to a assemblage simply ratifying decisions of the enactment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and indispensable not beryllium deprived of its constitutionally granted decision-making powers.

Can it beryllium abolished?

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is an instauration governed by EU provisions of supralegislative unit and cannot, arsenic the Union of Judges and Prosecutors states, beryllium abolished by nationalist law. Nevertheless, prosecutorial sources told “THEMA” that, theoretically, Greece could retreat from the EPPO, provided that a ineligible proviso is passed deciding connected specified withdrawal.

In different words, conscionable arsenic it joined nether the EPPO framework, it could retreat successful the aforesaid way. However, arsenic the aforesaid sources noted, withdrawal would efficaciously mean opting retired of an EU anti-corruption framework, particularly astatine a clip erstwhile lawsuit files involving governmental figures person already been submitted and investigations are ongoing.

Moreover, the aforesaid sources rejected the conception that the forwarding of the OPEKEPE lawsuit files involving governmental figures is solely the enactment of Papandreou, noting that the process is overseen some by Paschalis and Kövesi.

“We are among the archetypal 9 subordinate states that spearheaded the constitution of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office wrong the model of enhanced practice nether the Lisbon Treaty. Withdrawal from the EPPO is not feasible and successful signifier would connote a antagonistic representation for Greece regarding the regularisation of instrumentality and, consequently, a simplification successful the backing the state is entitled to, which it would suffer if it did not conscionable rule-of-law requirements,” a competent prosecutorial root emphasized, noting that Athens is obliged to cooperate with circumstantial institutions.

Its activity

“If you deliberation corruption exists lone successful Greece, that is not true. Corruption exists everywhere. The contented is whether we person the wont of sweeping problems nether the carpet oregon not,” Kövesi had stated past October astatine a property league held astatine the Piraeus Customs Office, and this presumption is afloat confirmed by the information presented successful the EPPO’s 2025 yearly report.

Having jurisdiction to analyse each offenses committed aft November 20, 2017, by the extremity of 2025 the European Public Prosecutor’s Office had 3,602 progressive cases, with an estimated full harm exceeding €67.27 billion. “In each participating subordinate states, our prosecutors person the aforesaid priorities. We absorption connected analyzable cross-border fiscal transgression investigations,” Kövesi noted successful her introductory remarks, adding that successful 2025 the Office processed 6,966 transgression reports—6% much than successful 2024.

According to the aforesaid report, successful Greece arsenic of December 31, 2025, determination were 175 ongoing investigations, with estimated full damages of astir €2.68 billion. Most of these investigations interest backing for EU agricultural, regional, and municipality improvement programs, arsenic good arsenic betterment and resilience programs.

At the aforesaid time, for example, successful Italy determination were astir 991 progressive investigations by the extremity of 2025, with estimated damages of €28.71 billion. In France determination were 121 unfastened cases with estimated damages of €5.94 billion, portion successful Germany progressive cases numbered 361, with estimated damages reaching €5.77 billion.