Laura Codruța Kovesi accuses pressure from the former government in Sofia in the appointment of the prosecutor representing Bulgaria at the European level
The head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Codruța Kovesi, claims that there was political pressure from a former Bulgarian government in the process of appointing Teodora Georgieva to the position of European Prosecutor for Bulgaria.
Head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Codruța Kovesi. PHOTO: AFP
The statements were made in an interview given to the Bulgarian television bTV and picked up by the Novinite agency, in the context of the scandal involving Teodora Georgieva, a magistrate suspended in the meantime and found guilty of “serious misconduct” in an internal disciplinary procedure of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).
According to Laura Codruța Kovesi, Georgieva was not the candidate ranked first in the national selection procedure organized in Bulgaria in 2020.
“That record is related to how Ms Georgieva was appointed European Prosecutor. In other member states, colleagues who were ranked first were appointed. But under pressure from the then Bulgarian government, the ranking was changed and she was appointed”said Kovesi.
The appointment would have taken place during the third government led by Boyko Borissov, when Danail Kirilov was Minister of Justice.
The scandal broke out after the appearance of recordings in the public space, in which Teodora Georgieva would appear talking to the former investigator Petyo Petrov, known by the nickname “Euro”investigated in Bulgaria for influence peddling in the judicial system.
Georgieva did not deny the authenticity of her presence in the recordings, but claimed that the material had been manipulated and taken out of context.
Kovesi specified that the disciplinary procedure was internal and independent, carried out with the involvement of European prosecutors from several member states.
“You have a unanimous decision of 24 independent prosecutors from different member states, who concluded that the violations were so serious that we requested the initiation of the procedure for her dismissal”said the head of the EPPO.
Laura Codruța Kovesi confirmed that this was the second disciplinary investigation opened against Teodora Georgieva, a situation she described as “extremely unusual” within the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Bulgarian prosecutor publicly claimed that the measures against her were politically motivated and related to sensitive investigations into European funds. Kovesi, however, rejected these allegations and insisted that the EPPO's investigations are protected by internal independence mechanisms.
In parallel, the name of Teodora Georgieva was also associated with the file “The eight dwarfs”, considered one of the biggest corruption scandals in Bulgaria's recent history.
The investigation targets a network of prosecutors and businessmen accused of using the court system to take over private businesses. The name of the file comes from a restaurant in Sofia where, according to the investigators, the leaders of the group met.
At the end of the interview, Kovesi emphasized the extent of the European Public Prosecutor's Office's activity in Bulgaria, stating that the institution manages over 260 files that would involve damages estimated at approximately 1.7 billion euros.
The head of the EPPO admitted that the relationship with some Bulgarian institutions was not always an easy one, but insisted that the activity of the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Bulgaria continues “active and efficient”.
