Romania’s Laura Codruţa Kovesi ends tenure as head of European Public Prosecutor’s Office

Romanian prosecutor Laura Codruţa Kovesi ended her tenure at the helm of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on Friday, October 30, after seven years.

Kovesi became the first European Chief Prosecutor in October 2019, after having led Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, or EPPO, headquartered in Luxembourg, began its operational activities on June 1, 2021, with the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes affecting the financial interests of the European Union, including fraud involving EU funds, corruption, and serious cross-border VAT fraud.

In an evaluation report published on September 18 this year, the European Commission said that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office operated very efficiently, noting a substantial increase in the institution’s activity since it began operating. According to the data presented in the evaluation, the number of active investigations increased from 515 in 2021 to 3,602 at the end of 2025.

The estimated damage in ongoing investigations reached EUR 67.27 billion, according to the EPPO's 2025 annual report. This amount represents suspected damage in the cases under investigation, not recovered funds or fraud already proven in court, according to Digi24.

In 2025 alone, European prosecutors opened 2,030 new investigations, approximately 35% more than in the previous year, while the conviction rate in cases concluded with a verdict stood at nearly 95%. The European Commission highlighted the EPPO’s contribution to combating fraud against the EU budget, but also identified difficulties related to human and financial resources, as well as cooperation with national authorities.

Before leaving, the Romanian prosecutor gave an interview to Politico, warning that the independence and effectiveness of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office were threatened by underfunding, bureaucratic obstacles, and political pressure. According to her, the EPPO would need 230 European Delegated Prosecutors, but the available funding covers only 180.

She further argued that politicians defend judicial independence as long as investigations do not target them or people close to them, but that this attitude changes when investigations begin to affect their interests.

Among other things, Kovesi mentioned the situation in Greece, where the EPPO faced one of the most evident attempts at intimidation, in the context of investigations into alleged fraud involving European agricultural subsidies. She also drew attention to jurisdictional conflicts between the EPPO and national judicial authorities, which can delay or block investigations.