In order to align with the European Union’s standards in the field of justice, the Moldovan authorities must harmonize the legislation and each institution in the system should fulfill its responsibilities properly, said the Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office Laura Codruta Kovesi. According to the European official, those who believe that joining the European Union eliminates corruption and challenges related to the rule of law are wrong because this fight is an ongoing one. The fight against corruption is the responsibility not only of the justice system and the whole of society must become involved, IPN reports.

Making statements for the press after a public lecture held at the Moldova State University, the European Chief Prosecutor noted that the phenomenon of corruption is a constant one and, in order to achieve results in the fight against this phenomenon, it is essential to have a clean justice system and legislation that provides prosecutors, judges and police officers with sufficient legislative tools to effectively investigate these cases of corruption. Regardless of the way the judicial system is organized, regardless of the legislation, everything comes down to how prosecutors, judges, policemen do their job.

Laura Codruta Kovesi said that citizens’ trust in democratic institutions is largely affected by the perception that justice yields to political interests, and those democratic institutions are not able to secure the streets of their cities, which is why justice is the first area that must be cleared of corruption so as to constitute a system with impartial and independent truth.

The European Chief Prosecutor also said that after Romania joined the European Union, there was a major transformation for the better. The country received access to a lot of funds, to a lot of information. During the pre-accession period, seminars were organized. Guarantees of stability and predictability appeared both in legislation and in the professional life. “For me, the moment of Romania’s accession to the European Union was the key moment that changed both my professional life and my personal life into something very good. The entire society was changed, as was our personal life and everyone’s professional life,” stated Laura Codruta Kovesi.

The Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is visiting the Republic of Moldova at the invitation of Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru. During the visit, Laura Codruta Kovesi plans to meet with President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean. She is to also take part in the meeting of the Anticorruption Platform. Laura Codruta Kovesi’s last visit to the Republic of Moldova took place in July 2022, when a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.