Greece renews its EPPO prosecutors’ mandate for 2 years
A Greek council of judges on Monday renewed the mandate of three European prosecutors whose protracted presence at the head of a major farm subsidy fraud investigation had caused tension with government officials in Athens.
But the Supreme Judiciary Council only renewed the three prosecutors’ terms for another two years, instead of the five sought by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Greek prosecutors Popi Papandreou, Harikleia Thanou and Dionysis Mouzakis have been seconded to the Athens section of the EPPO and are handling the OPEKEPE scandal probe, named after the now-defunct state agency that was responsible for disbursing European Union farm subsidies.
The renewal or not of their terms and the issue of who has the final say on the matter had triggered a public spat between the EPPO and officials in Greece’s conservative governing New Democracy party. The EPPO probe had called for Parliament to lift the automatic immunity from prosecution of a string of ND lawmakers suspected of involvement in the OPEKEPE scandal.
In Monday’s unanimous decision, the Greek council of judges found that the three prosecutors should stay on the EPPO job until they have completed the cases they are currently handling. The final word on the matter rests now with the EPPO.
“The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has not received any official information regarding the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council,” a spokesperson from the EPPO said. “Once we receive official information, we will analyse the decision and determine the appropriate next steps.”
Kathimerini
