Greece renews its EPPO prosecutors’ mandate for 2 years

[EPPO]

A Greek assembly of judges connected Monday renewed the mandate of three European prosecutors whose protracted beingness astatine the caput of a large workplace subsidy fraud probe had caused tension with authorities officials successful Athens.

But the Supreme Judiciary Council lone renewed the three prosecutors’ terms for different two years, alternatively of the 5 sought by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Greek prosecutors Popi Papandreou, Harikleia Thanou and Dionysis Mouzakis person been seconded to the Athens conception of the EPPO and are handling the OPEKEPE ungraded probe, named aft the now-defunct state bureau that was liable for disbursing European Union workplace subsidies.

The renewal oregon not of their terms and the contented of who has the last accidental connected the substance had triggered a nationalist spat betwixt the EPPO and officials successful Greece’s blimpish governing New Democracy party. The EPPO probe had called for Parliament to assistance the automatic immunity from prosecution of a string of ND lawmakers suspected of engagement successful the OPEKEPE scandal.

In Monday’s unanimous decision, the Greek assembly of judges recovered that the three prosecutors should stay connected the EPPO occupation until they person completed the cases they are presently handling. The last word connected the substance rests present with the EPPO.