Laura Codruţa Kövesi a depus astăzi în fața Curții de Justiție a UE angajamentul solemn în calitate de șefă a Parchetului European, potrivit unui comunicat de presă al Curții. La ceremonie a participat și fiul jurnalistei malteze Daphne Caruana Galizia, asasinată în 2017 din cauza investigațiilor de corupție.

„Mă angajez solemn să îmi exercit funcția în deplină independență, în interesul Uniunii în ansamblul său; să nu solicit și să nu accept instrucțiuni de la nicio persoană sau entitate exterioară Parchetului European. Mă angajez de asemenea să respect obligația de confidențialitate, în ceea ce privește orice informație deținută de Parchetul European”, este textul angajamentului luat.

Angajamentul solemn a fost luat de Laura Codruţa Kövesi (RO), de Frédéric Baab (FR), de Cătălin-Laurențiu Borcoman (RO), de Jaka Brezigar (SI), de Danilo Ceccarelli (IT), de Gatis Doniks (LV), de doamna Yvonne Farrugia (MT), de doamna Teodora Georgieva (BG), de doamna Daniëlle Goudriaan (NL), de José Eduardo Guerra (PT), de Petr Klement (CZ), de Tomas Krušna (LT), de doamna Tamara Laptoš (HR), de doamna Katerina Loizou (CY), de doamna Ingrid Maschl-Clausen (AT), de Juraj Novocký (SK), de Andrés Ritter (DE), de doamna Maria Concepción Sabadell Carnicero (ES), de Gabriel Seixas (LU), de doamna Kristel Siitam-Nyiri (EE), de Harri Tiesmaa (FI), de Yves Van Den Berge (BE) și de Dimitrios Zimianitis (GR).

Parchetul European este un organ independent al Uniunii însărcinat cu investigarea, urmărirea penală și trimiterea în judecată a autorilor infracțiunilor care aduc atingere intereselor financiare ale Uniunii (de exemplu fraudă, corupție sau fraudă transfrontalieră în materie de TVA care depășește 10 milioane de euro). În acest scop, Parchetul European desfășoară investigații, efectuează acte de urmărire penală și exercită acțiunea publică în fața instanțelor competente din statele membre. Parchetul European are sediul la Luxemburg.

Actualmente, 22 de state membre participă la această cooperare consolidată (Austria, Belgia, Bulgaria, Cipru, Croația, Estonia, Finlanda, Franța, Germania, Grecia, Italia, Letonia, Lituania, Luxemburg, Malta, Republica Cehă, Portugalia, România, Slovacia, Slovenia, Spania și Țările de Jos).

Cu această ocazie, Kovesi a rostit și un discurs în limba engleză. Citește mai jos discursul integral:

I would like to thank Mr Lenaerts for this solemn ceremony of the first College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This is a historic moment.

To give solemn in front of the European Court of Justice is a powerful symbol, a great honor but also a heavy responsibility.

Standing here today, together, we are reaffirming the unique human ability to distinguish right from wrong and true from false.

Above all, to be here, with you, is a privilege. For all the patient, humble work of thousands of people who, ever since the end of the second world war, and later, after the fall of the Berlin wall, have contributed to the renaissance of Europe by its peaceful unification, it is an honor to welcome our special guest Ms. Mireille Delmas Marty. Emeritus professor at Collège de France, she was the coordinator of the European Union expert Committee on the “Corpus Juris” project of European criminal law, where the vision of the European Public Prosecutor Office came to life.

Madame Mireille Delmas Marty, merci pour votre travail visionnaire, qui nous a permis d’être ici aujourd’hui. Nous sommes chargés de transformer l’idée du Parquet européen en réalité. Nous comptons sur votre indulgence. La tâche est à la mesure de l’ambition du projet – immense.

Dear European Prosecutors, our presence here, today, means that we accept the responsibility to take forward the work of those many people – civil servants, politicians, practitioners and academics – who turned a noble idea into a legal text.

We are responsible to make it work.

Each of us comes with a specific background, language, culture, experience. I am not aware of a more exciting challenge for our generation. Of course, it will not be easy to find solutions for 22 different judicial systems, especially because there is no precedent for a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Our work is that of true pioneers.

I am convinced that we are ready to do it. During our first meetings, I have felt that we have the right focus, the right spirit, the right determination to succeed.

And we are not alone.

I am especially grateful that colleagues, family members and friends are able to be with us today.

We can of course count on the European Court of Justice, with all its authority and decisive jurisprudence.

I am confident that we can count on our fellow prosecutors, policemen and judges in the Member States.

But, above all, we can also count on millions of European citizens, who understand what is at stake here.

They have not forgotten the courage of the Italian prosecutors such as Giovani Falcone, Rocco Chinnici or Paolo Borsellino, who lost their lives investigating organized crime. And we should never forget the courage of investigative journalists such as Daphne Caruana Galizia or Jan Kuciak, who lost their lives uncovering corruption.

It is an honor to welcome as our special guest today also Mr. Matthew Caruana Galizia, one of Daphne’s sons.

I have no words to describe what I feel thinking about your loss, other than: we are in your debt. This feeling will guide me as European Chief Prosecutor, as it inspires a relentless commitment to justice, and sacrifice.

As prosecutors, we cannot prevent tragedies. We just enforce the law. Our role is to set the wheels of justice into motion, to ensure that everyone is equal in front of the law, that no one is untouchable.

It is now our task not to disappoint, to set up a strong and efficient institution, trusted by the European citizens, able to protect the financial interests of the European Union and to contribute to the enforcement of the rule of law.

Dear colleagues,

We are European prosecutors and we have taken an oath. This oath is to act independently, in the interest of the EU as a whole. Regardless if we are praised or criticized. We are not representing national interests in an inter-governmental organisation.

The European Public Prosecutor Office is independent. This independence is not a privilege for prosecutors or judges. It is a fundamental principle of rule of law: only an independent judiciary can enforce the law equally for everybody.

We have chosen to work as European prosecutors because we care. We care about the countries in which we live. We care about Europe.

The public concerns related to financial frauds, corruption and rule of law have grown stronger than ever. By protecting the European Union’s budget, we will play an essential role in making the European citizens’ trust in the Union stronger than ever!

Thank you!”

Foto Laura Codruța Kovesi (InquamPhotos /Octav Ganea)

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