EU’s chief prosecutor vows not to bend under pressure

BUCHAREST, Romania — For Romania’s Laura Codruta Kovesi, opposition to her successful candidacy to become the European Union’s first chief prosecutor came from a familiar source — her own country’s government.

Kovesi spent five years as the head of the Romanian Anti-corruption Directorate — known as the DNA — achieving remarkable results. Those indicted included 14 Cabinet members, 53 lawmakers and a member of the European Parliament.

Still, she was removed by the governing Social Democrats in 2018, an act many in Romania believe was political retaliation for her department’s successes.

With Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and others openly advocating against her, Kovesi called her EU appointment a vote of confidence for all prosecutors and judges in her country.

“I think it’s an appreciation for how our justice system fought against corruption but, more importantly, an appreciation of all Romanians who supported the rule of law and European values in the last couple of years,” Kovesi said.

Kovesi, 46, became Romania’s youngest prosecutor general in 2006 and served for six years before her stint at the DNA. Now, she will direct the European Public Prosecutor’s Office — or EPPO — tasked with investigating fraud connected to the use of EU funds and other financial crimes. The Luxembourg-based office is expected to begin operations late next year.

A report released in January by the European Court of Auditors revealed that the EU lost $9.88 billion between 2002 and 2017 to fraud, of which only $2.85 billion euros were recovered.

So far, 22 of the 28 EU member states have decided to participate in EPPO, with Sweden also thinking about joining the office. The agency will be the bloc’s first institution for prosecutors to achieve a...