EU Public Prosecutor’s Office Starts Operating without Bulgaria

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), headed by Laura Coveschi, will start operating on Tuesday without Bulgaria having the required 10 delegated prosecutors mandated to work on major fraud cases related to EU funds at the domestic level.

Seven of Bulgaria's 10 initial candidates failed to meet the requirements set out in the EPPO Regulation, the EPPO decided in March. In mid-April, the body's chief prosecutor Laura Koveshi sent a letter to the Prosecutors' College in Bulgaria saying that her body expects new nominations from Sofia. 

The members of the Prosecutors' College, chaired by Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev have said they will wait for the decision on the remaining pending candidates for Bulgarian delegated prosecutors. A decision on the remaining candidates was made public on 7 May, where the EPPO accepted one other candidate, meaning six candidates are currently missing.

Since then, however, the topic has not been on the agenda of the Prosecutors' College.  /Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg