The head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Kövesi, refused to reveal to the European Parliament the specific reasons for the requested dismissal of the Bulgarian European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva. The reason for the silence is the unfinished procedures and the operational secrecy surrounding the institution's ongoing investigations.
The MEPs from the committees on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, as well as on budgetary control, listened to Laura Kövesi on the occasion of the annual report on the activities of the European Union Prosecutor's Office.
In response to direct questions from the MEPs, the Prosecutor General confirmed that a serious disciplinary procedure has been initiated against Teodora Georgieva, which has already gone through several stages.
"This was an internal procedure, then we formed a committee to further verify the established facts. The conclusion was that there was misconduct in three areas," explained Laura Kövesi.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office has officially activated the mechanism for the final removal of the Bulgarian representative from the institution.
"We decided to ask the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU to remove this prosecutor, as the rules provide", Laura Kövesi was categorical. She refused to go into specifics with the argument: "I cannot explain more, because most of the data established are related to operational information on unfinished investigations, we will wait for the procedure to be completed".
During the hearing, Laura Kövesi also commented on the political turbulence in our country from the recent past. She stated categorically that the European Public Prosecutor's Office has absolutely no connection with the detention of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which happened exactly four years ago. The Prosecutor General specified that at that time the institution was not conducting its own investigation into the case.
In her general statement, Laura Kövesi outlined the scale of financial crimes in Europe, noting that the institution entrusted to her is investigating suspected fraud of over 45 billion euros from the European budget.
"We have uncovered criminal organizations that are draining the European budget, the level of this fraud was underestimated", said Laura Kövesi. She also made a brief assessment of her mandate, which expires in the fall of this year. "I was not appointed to sweep problems under the carpet. I worked so that the law was applied equally to everyone and I did my best", she added.
The leadership of the European Public Prosecutor's Office will be taken over by German magistrate Andres Ritter, for whom Laura Kövesi expressed confidence that he will maintain the work at the highest level.