Slovenia urged yet again to name delegated prosecutors

European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has reiterated his call for Slovenia to appoint European delegated prosecutors after Slovenia annulled the appointment procedure. “We need two European delegated prosecutors from Slovenia,” he told the press on the sidelines of a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Monday (7 June).

The Slovenian government recently annulled the appointment procedure, which triggered the resignation of Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič, who disagreed with the government’s decision, and widespread criticism both from EU officials and the Slovenian opposition.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) was one of the topics of the meeting and the Slovenian justice ministry said that although Slovenia had not yet appointed its prosecutors, it “stood firmly behind” the EPPO project and welcomed the start of its functioning.

Reynders noted that a solution would be reached within weeks with Finland, the only other participating country that has not appointed its European delegated prosecutors. “Therefore, we will have a problem only with the non-appointment of two European delegated prosecutors from Slovenia,” he added.

The European commissioner said that the upcoming Slovenian EU presidency had been urged that Slovenia met its obligation in accordance with the regulation on the EPPO by 1 July. (Sebastijan R. Maček | STA.si)