Laura Kovesi, the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), says that the biggest test for Europe was not whether it could create an independent prosecution authority, but whether it was willing to let it do its job.
In a revealing interview with Euractiv, the “iron lady” of European justice describes an anti-EU institutional tendency to “soften”, delay and bureaucratize the .
“How dare you?” – The conflict with the Commission
Kovesi revealed that during her tenure, a top European Commission official asked her to “tone down” the scale of corruption her office was uncovering.
“I answered him: ‘How dare you tell me this? We are independent. If there is a case, it is our mandate to investigate it,'” she recalled, underlining that she cannot turn a blind eye, even if the investigations reach the top of the European hierarchy. Since 2021, the EPPO has opened over 3,600 cases and seized more than one billion euros from criminal organizations.
The “thorn” of Greece and the drama of Tempe
Special mention is made of Greece, where the European Public Prosecutor’s Office ran into constitutional obstacles that protect politicians. The case of Tempe and the management of railway safety funds is the most characteristic example.
“In this case, we cannot find evidence unless the Constitution is changed,” Kovesi emphasizes. “It is already too late, because the laws do not have retroactive effect. That was the most we could do.”
For Kovesi, the problem is not the existence of immunity, but the fact that these barriers do not allow prosecutors to even document the facts. “Removing immunity is the minimum condition for justice to work,” he notes.
Lack of resources and a “dirty” disinformation war
The European Public Prosecutor is sounding the alarm about the systematic undermining of her work through:
- Chronic understaffing: In Belgium, for example, while they needed eight prosecutors, they started with only two.
- Mud campaigns: Kovesi referred to coordinated disinformation attacks in Greece and Croatia, aimed at discrediting prosecutors, while they are bound by the secrecy of the investigation.
“A prosecutor who has no enemies is not a real prosecutor,” he says with a smile, despite the threats he has received from private intelligence agencies.
“Don’t sweep the dirt under the rug”
As she ends her term this autumn, Laura Kovesi is sending a resounding message to Brussels: checks and studies are not enough if there is no real will to clean up.
“The higher your position in the EU, the higher the standards should be. The position doesn’t make you more virtuous – it means you have to follow the rules more strictly than everyone else.”
