Third round of negotiations for the European chief prosecutor seat fails consensus again. EU Council reiterates support for Bohnert

The European Parliament team and the EU Council one have failed to reach a consensus on the European Prosecutor’s Office candidate on Thursday, with the next meeting being scheduled for April 10. Former Romanian anti-corruption chief Laura Codruta Kovesi is also running for this position, being endorsed by the European Parliament.

The EU Council has reiterated on Thursday its endorsement for the French candidate Jean-Francois Bohnert to the detriment of Laura Codruta Kovesi, announcing that negotiations might be transferred to the future legislative term of the European Parliament.

On the other hand, the European Parliament is supporting Kovesi for this position. The negotiation team of the EP consists of the president and vice-president of the LIBE Committee, Claude Moraes and Judith Sargentini, and the chairman of CONT committee, Ingeborg Grassle (EPP group).

Following a secret vote, the LIBE Committee selected Kovesi in February as the favorite candidate for this position. Kovesi won 26 votes, French  Jean-François Bohnert (France) -22 votes, and Andrés Ritter (Germany)- 1 vote. Kovesi has been the favorite of CONT Committee as well.

Instead, following the vote of the ambassadors of the member states to the EU Council, Jean-François Bohnert ranked first on the list for the European Prosecutor’s Office, Kovesi came second and Ritter last.

Considering that there are two favorite candidates at the moment, Kovesi and Bohnert, several rounds of negotiations between the Council and the Parliament are ongoing to reach a consensus and choose between the two.