The head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, no less, has questioned the right of Supreme Court to have the final say in the renewal of the terms of office of the three Greek prosecutors.
An intervention that may spark different interpretations and give credence to critics that exceeds its strict institutional limits (and that it effectively does not recognize Greece’s judicial system) was made yesterday by the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Laura Covesi, on the sidelines of the Delphi Economic Forum.
In fact, the Romanian prosecutor may have claimed that “I don’t comment on what politicians say”, but with an obvious hint of irony she added – shortly afterwards – that “if I have to answer every day to what politicians say, I would spend 23 hours a day repeating what I have already said”.
However, he immediately went on to make statements that, according to some readings, touch on issues at the core of Greek Justice. Specifically, referring to the issue of the renewal of the mandate of the European Public Prosecutors, she appeared categorical that under the regulation the relevant competence belongs exclusively to the College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In the same context, in the form of a threat (?), she also posed a question that provoked debate:“Who has an interest in removing these prosecutors from the cases?”. This quote, although not accompanied by further clarification, was interpreted by some as indirect intervention in the ongoing debate in the country, while he did not fail to… comment on the proceedings the day before yesterday on waiver of immunity of 13 MPs, describing it as “very good”!
At the same time, intervening – as some underline – in the internal affairs of a state, he said that “if you believe that the decision of the EPPO College is wrong and that the legislation should be interpreted differently, you should go to the European Court of Justice”.
This prompted a statement from Adonis Georgiadis that “as long as Mrs. Covesi still allows us to do so, we still have democracy”.
Then he clarified that “judges in Greece are independent” and expressed confidence that the Supreme Judicial Council of the Supreme Court will “do what is right”, avoiding adopting a confrontational tone. Earlier, of course, she argued in reference to the MPs’ conversations that “no one in the world will convince me that these are part of the job of politicians (job description) here in Greece or in Europe.” At the same time, however, he acknowledged that the Greek government is not putting obstacles in the way of the work of European prosecutors, despite what the opposition says. “I hope for positive developments. The prime minister’s statement about acceleration is good. Good meetings with the three ministers, I have nothing to complain about,” he said, giving the impression of a functioning channel of communication with the Greek side, despite the heavy climate surrounding the OPEKEPE.
And, of course, he stressed (for the eyes of the world?) that there is indeed a salami-slicing of dossiers that should not be done. “I have seen the announcements that have been made and I agree that the procedures should be done quickly. We know there is an expectation from the public to clarify what happened. But everyone needs to understand that we are human beings. And, also, we only have 24 hours in which to work. And maybe we need to get some sleep. And our resources are very limited. So far, in this investigation, we only have one police officer working with our two prosecutors, three people who have to evaluate thousands of documents. They have to listen to hundreds of wiretaps. It’s not easy. But the good thing is we have an agreement,” he said, adding: “Yesterday, we had a very good meeting with the Home Secretary and we will have more resources to take this investigation further. I had this discussion with the Minister of Justice about changes in legislation. I understand they want to do something to speed up the process. I really welcome that. And I agree that we need to do something. I also expressed an opinion. Again, it’s not that I asked for something from the Greek authorities, but we have a review of 24 different court systems and we have a good view of what needs to be done.”
In closing her statement, however, the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a message to Greek society, urging citizens not to be… discouraged by thinking that there are only scandals in our country. “Don’t give up, corruption can be defeated,” she said, and urged citizens to appeal to the authority, either in Greece or abroad, for evidence.
Questions remain
Dimitris Markopoulos, MP for Piraeus (ND)
Mrs. Covesi is doing her job undistracted and, yes, we respect the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. On the other hand, I say clearly: There are some questions. Once again there are leaks. What is going on? Who is doing it? Who are they serving? Is it possible that since September we have heard many and not exceptional people identify political opponents and say “wait, wait because you’ll hear from so-and-so in a moment. Hang on, a minister is coming.”Who is responsible for these leaks?
