Interviews start at Justice Ministry of candidates for European prosecutor; two candidates drop out

A panel headed by Justice Minister Ana Birchall on Tuesday started interviews with Romanian candidates vying for the office of the European prosecutor. In the beginning of the meeting, streamed live on the website of the justice minister, the withdrawal of two candidates, Razvan Horatiu Radu and Nicoleta Nolden, was announced. Justice Minister Ana Birchall also informed that another candidate was on vacation and would attend the interview at another time. First to unveil the project to the panel is Catalin Laurentiu Borcoman, a former head of the Brasov Directorate for the Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). The candidates attend the interview in alphabetical order in two sessions - the first started at 10:00hrs and the second scheduled for 16:00hrs, as Birchall has to attend a government meeting scheduled for 13:00hrs. Daniel Horodniceanu, Catatlin Laurentiu Borcoman, Marius Bogdan Bulancea, Elena Hach, Constantin Claudiu Dumitrescu, Laura Ecedi Stoisavlevici, Razvan Horatiu Radu and Nicoleta Nolden have applied for the position of European Prosecutor on behalf of Romania. Horodniceanu, Borcoman, Bulancea, Stoisavlevici and Hach also attended the first selection session organised by MJ the ministry, but they were rejected in April by then Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. According to the ministry, in order to be nominated a candidate on behalf of Romania for the post of European prosecutor, the candidate has to be a Romanian citizen residing in Romania working as a prosecutor or a judge with a job seniority of at least 15 years, is a prosecutor with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation or a judge with a court of appeals, with relevant practical experience in the Romanian judiciary, knowing English or French an advanced technical level (advanced knowledge of one or two widely spoken languages is an advantage). After the interview, the panel selects three candidates to be recorded on a list that the justice minister will submit to the Council of the European Union. AGERPRES (RO - author: Eusebi Manolache, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor; Adina Panaitescu)