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SOFIA – The European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi opened a separate office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sofia. By a decision in July, the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria provided a building in the city center, at 45 “Al. Stamboliyski” Blvd., for the needs of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Bulgarian Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev attended the event.
I am glad that after four and a half years we are managing to open the office, the minister said. He pointed out that the acting Prosecutor General of Bulgaria Borislav Sarafov has urgent commitments and therefore is not present at the event.
We are about to hold a competition for a new European prosecutor from Bulgaria, he told journalists. He added that the government is doing what is necessary to build trust and to express the common will of the authorities regarding the investigation being conducted against the current Bulgarian European prosecutor Teodora Georgieva. It will become clear whether there are candidates when the application deadline expires, he added.
At the end of October, the Bulgarian government tasked Georgiev with setting up a Commission for the selection of candidates for the position of European prosecutor from Bulgaria. According to the Regulation of the European Union, the nominated candidates must be serving prosecutors, judges or investigators whose independence is beyond doubt. In addition, they must possess the necessary qualifications for appointment to a senior prosecutorial or judicial position and the relevant practical experience in the national legal system, financial investigations and international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
In July 2020, the Council of the EU adopted a decision on the appointment of the European prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, under which fourteen European prosecutors were appointed for a period of six years, starting from 29 July 2020. After drawing lots in April 2024, the Council extended the mandate of seven European prosecutors until 30 June 2029. The mandate of the remaining seven European prosecutors, including the European prosecutor from Bulgaria, was not extended and will end, as provided, on 28 July 2026.
During her visit to Bulgaria, Laura Kövesi discussed with Georgi Georgiev the cooperation between the Bulgarian judicial authorities and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, legislative changes related to the investigation of crimes affecting the financial interests of the European Union, and they expressed their mutual appreciation for the fruitful cooperation. (3-4.12.2025)