Greece’s Supreme Court has unanimously voted to renew the mandates of three prosecutors serving in the Greek delegation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), but for two years rather than the full five-year term that EPPO Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi had previously granted them.
The Supreme Judicial Council, a 15-member body that includes Supreme Court President Anastasia Papadopoulou and Prosecutor Konstantinos Tzavellas, ruled that Popi Papandreou, Charikleia Thanou and Dionysis Mouzakis should remain in their posts for the duration needed to complete their open case files. Under Greek law, the Supreme Court — known in Greek as the Areios Pagos — has jurisdiction over the postings and service changes of all judicial and prosecutorial officers.
The three prosecutors have handled some of Greece’s most politically charged cases, including the OPEKEPE agricultural subsidy scandal and the investigation into Contract 717, linked to the 2023 Tempi train disaster. Papandreou and Mouzakis are also the prosecutors behind the requests to strip parliamentary immunity from New Democracy lawmakers in connection with the OPEKEPE case.
Kovesi had renewed all three mandates last November for five years. Under Greek law, however, national judicial authorities also have a role in the process, and the matter fell before the Supreme Court. At the Delphi Economic Forum earlier this month, Kovesi stated she saw no reason for the three mandates not to be renewed, warning that a refusal would be taken to the European Court of Justice under the EPPO regulation.
The council’s unanimous decision avoids that outcome, while stopping short of endorsing the full term Kövesi had awarded.
