Minister of Justice Sergiu Litvinenco said he would like a system of institutions for fighting corruption to exist in Chisinau and be functional and to resist eventual attacks in time. For her part, the European chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi, who is in Moldova on a visit, said that she is here to send a signal, that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is ready to help Moldovan national authorities on the path towards EU membership within the limits of their mandate and expertise, IPN reports.
In a news conference given after a meeting of the two officials, Sergiu Litvinenco said that the European chief prosecutor’s visit to Chisinau is extremely important for the Republic of Moldova and takes place in exactly a year of the parliamentary elections, when the citizens gave a vote of confidence because they want to live in a democratic state free from corruption and with an independent and fair justice system.
“This visit is even more valuable now that the Republic of Moldova obtained the EU candidate status. For the European integration to take place, we must take concrete actions, especially in the fields of reformation of the justice system and the fight against corruption. That’s why we are extremely interested in your experience as head of the European Prosecutor’s Office,” stated the minister.
Laura Codruța Kövesi noted that the Republic of Moldova, as a candidate country, will receive a significant amount of EU funding in the years to come. “It is our shared responsibility to pursue possible fraudsters with utmost determination and efficiency, within our respective scopes of competence. We need to better detect frauds affecting the Union’s financial interests, to investigate more efficiently, to exchange strategic information as true partners,” stated Laura Codruța Kövesi.
“I did not come to lecture. I came to share my experience, as a prosecutor, as an EU official, as a Romanian - citizen of the EU. In this capacity, allow me to share one general reflection with you. EU integration is often presented as a technocratic process. Legal approximation, negotiation chapters, milestones, structural reforms… And as a means to an end: the membership in an exclusive club with many benefits. I think this is a misconception.”
In the course of the day, Laura Codruța Kövesi met with President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. The European chief prosecutor said that they discussed if the EPPO model can be a source of inspiration for possible reforms or broader organizational measures. “One suggestion from my side will be not only to recognize the EPPO as a competent authority, but also to start the process of approximation with EU criminal law by adopting EU legislation on preventing and combatting corruption and fraud to the Union’s financial interests,” said the official.
A working arrangement between the EPPO and the General Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova is to be signed on Wednesday. This is designed to facilitate the exchange of information between the two institutions and the extradition of wanted persons. Laura Codruța Kövesi will also have meetings with the EU Aid coordinator, the anti-corruption and organized crime prosecutors, representatives of anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering law enforcement institutions as well as civil society organizations active on anti-corruption.
