#Romania2019.eu/Toader: Candidate for European Chief Prosecutor position does not need Gov't's endorsement

The candidate running for the position of European Chief Prosecutor does not need the endorsement of the government of the country he/she comes from, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said on Friday, while the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, said the selection process for this position must be "fair and without attempts to discredit him/her." 

"During this period, the appointment of the Chief Prosecutor of the European Prosecutor's Office is underway. At today's Council level, we did not have on the agenda and there was no way we could have on the agenda, nor did we discuss anything about the appointment of the European Chief Prosecutor. Why? Because the procedure is in progress and the competence is the one you certainly are aware of," Toader told a press conference after chairing the Justice and Home Affairs Council. 

He said that the Council had discussed the stages for the designation of candidates from the 22 states for the designation of the European prosecutors. 

"By March 31, each country will send its three candidates for the appointment of the European prosecutors, then we will get to the operationalisation, the actual functioning of the European Prosecutor's Office, according to the regulation, in 2020," he pointed out. 

Vera Jourova, the European Commissioner for Justice, told a press conference that one of the goals is to appoint a European Chief Prosecutor by April and encouraged an honest process without attempting to discredit any candidate. Asked what she meant by "attempts to discredit", the European Commissioner said: "I was thinking about Ms. Kovesi's case."