The European Public Prosecutor's Office has informed the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission that it is launching an administrative investigation into possible wrongdoing by Bulgarian European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva.
The announcement comes after recordings were released online this month that allegedly show a conversation between Georgieva and alleged lobbyist in the judiciary, former investigator Petyo Petrov, known as Pepi Euroto, in January 2020. According to the allegations in the videos, Pepi Euroto was involved in a plan to eliminate Georgieva's competitors in the competition.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office did not directly comment on the content of the footage, but stressed that the independence of each prosecutor in its system is "essential to the institution's mission".
The decision to open an administrative investigation was taken by the College of European Public Prosecutors and will be monitored by the EU institutions, which are responsible for the initial appointment and removal of European prosecutors.
Georgieva is a lawyer with a long career in the judiciary. A month ago, it became clear that she had been granted state protection at the request of Laura Kövesi. This happened after a fire in the village of Beglezh, in which Georgieva's mother died.