Kövesi set to become Europe's chief prosecutor
After months of wrangling the European Council and EU Parliament have agreed to back Laura Kövesi as the head of the new European Public Prosecutor's Office. The decision is seen as a serious blow for the Romanian government, which has done its utmost to stop Kövesi from securing the post. The reactions in Romania's media are divided.
An anti-corruption icon
The fact that the EU Parliament and European Council have agreed on Kövesi is good news in several respects, the Romanian service of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle concludes:
“With Kövesi, Romania has secured its first high-ranking and important post in the EU. After inexplicable dithering and negotiations in which the Frenchman Jean-François Bohnert was initially the favourite, the EU Parliament and the European Council decided in favour of the former DNA head Kövesi. With this decision both institutions are strengthening the image of a controversial EU that needs the credibility of anti-corruption icons like Laura Kövesi to make its procedures for investigating and punishing fraud involving the Community's budget plausible.”
Her qualifications played no role
Laura Codruța Kövesi is unfit for the EU post in Luxembourg, the Romanian tabloid Libertatea counters:
“Political negotiations have made this turnaround in the European Council possible. And lo and behold, once again politics has decided what course Mrs Kövesi's career takes. There is nothing at all sensational about Kövesi's results as a prosecutor. It's all just PR hype, dealings behind closed doors, double standards and a touch of disdain for democracy. This was also made clear by the way she cooperated with the Romanian Intelligence Service [SRI] and clung to this anti-constitutional cooperation so as to silence her adversaries.”