Opposition reacts to positive notice of COREPER for Kovesi's candidacy for European head prosecutor

Laura Codruta Kovesi convinced through 'proven integrity and competence' in leading the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) and the Public Ministry, said on Thursday Dacian Ciolos, leader of the Renew Group in the European Parliament, after the former head of the DNA was given a positive notice in the Council from the ambassadors of the EU member states for the position of European head prosecutor. "Our efforts in the European Parliament are working. I congratulate her, it's her merit she got this far and convinced through proven integrity and competence in leading the DNA and the Public Ministry. We have managed together with the colleagues in the USR PLUS Alliance and in the Renew Europe group to act coordinately to overcome the political blockage that existed up to now, in part due to the opposition of the PSD [Social Democratic Party] Government. Fortunately, France and governments of member states we have had discussions with in the past months changed their position and voted for the Romanian candidate, as should have happened from the beginning if the PSD had not acted against the interest of Romania," Ciolos wrote on Facebook. The USR PLUS Alliance in the European Parliament, too, announced in a release that Laura Codruta Kovesi, Romania's candidate, has a clear path to occupy one of the most important positions in the European Union, that of head prosecutor of the European Prosecutor's Office. The National Liberal Party (PNL) chairman, Ludovic Orban, stated that the designation of Laura Codruta Kovesi as European head prosecutor following the vote in COREPER is a victory to which President Klaus Iohannis and the liberals contributed and a slap given to the Dancila Government by the other European states. He mentions that PNL, as a member of the EPP, used all its leverage to obtain this result, managing to determine changes in position from the countries that initially did not vote in favor of Laura Codruta Kovesi. The chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR), Dan Barna, sends his congratulations to Laura Codruta Kovesi for the vote obtained during the COREPER meeting, mentioning that only PM Viorica Dancila insists on stopping her appointment as European head prosecutor, but that the PM's opposition "did not matter". He claims that if she had acted "decently" in the past and had let Laura Codruta Kovesi continue her career, Viorica Dancila would not be today in the position "of acting against the interests of her own country."AGERPRES(RO - author: Catalina Matei, editor: Florin Marin, EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Maria Voican)