Greek Supreme Court rejects Kövesi's appeal over two-year term for EU prosecutors, deepening institutional clash
The administrative plenary of Greece's Supreme Court ruled 72-10 that the European Chief Prosecutor lacked standing to challenge a decision limiting three delegated prosecutors to a two-year renewal instead of five.
The ruling
Greece's Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) dismissed as inadmissible the appeal filed by European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi against a decision of the Supreme Judicial Council. The council had renewed the terms of three Greek delegated European prosecutors for two years, rather than the five-year renewal decided by the EPPO College in Luxembourg. The court's administrative plenary voted 72 to 10 to reject the appeal, holding that under Greek law only the affected judicial officers themselves may bring such challenges, and even they cannot do so when the council's decision was unanimous.
The renewal for five years had been decided for all European prosecutors by the College in Luxembourg, and each country cannot renew at its own discretion, something that would endanger the unity of the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
The legal dispute
The clash traces back to November 2025, when the EPPO College announced a five-year renewal for the three prosecutors (Popi Papandreou, Charikleia Thanou, and Dionysis Mouzakis) without prior consultation of the Greek Supreme Judicial Council. Athens insisted the council is the sole competent body for service matters of judicial officers. After Kövesi sent a request describing the renewal as a final administrative step, the council unanimously granted a two-year extension, citing the need for the prosecutors to complete ongoing case files, including the Tempe railway disaster and the OPEKEPE subsidy scandal.
Kövesi did not appear in person; constitutional lawyer Spyros Vlachopoulos argued on her behalf, stressing the primacy of EU law and urging the court to refer a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union on who holds the competence to renew terms. Ten dissenting judges supported that view, both on the admissibility of Kövesi's appeal and on the substantive competence question.
- EPPO College decides five-year renewal for Papandreou, Thanou, and Mouzakis without prior Greek council consultation, triggering Athens' objections.
- Kövesi sends request to Greek authorities describing the renewal as a final administrative step; Supreme Judicial Council unanimously grants a two-year extension instead.
- Areios Pagos plenary hears Kövesi's appeal; Vlachopoulos argues for EU law primacy and a CJEU preliminary reference.
- Court rejects appeal 72-10 as inadmissible; same day, council selects three new EU prosecutors for Greece.
What happens next
The same day, the Supreme Judicial Council is expected to select three new European prosecutors from a pool of about 20 to 25 candidates, following Kövesi's request for additional staff due to workload. Frontrunners include Dimitris Zimianitis, who previously served at the EPPO in Luxembourg, and Olympia Kleitsaki. The rejection of the appeal leaves open the possibility of a further challenge directly before the CJEU, though no such step has been confirmed.
The prosecutors and their cases
The three prosecutors at the centre of the dispute have handled some of Greece's most sensitive investigations. Their dossiers include aspects of the Tempe train crash and the OPEKEPE agricultural payments scandal. The two-year renewal was explicitly framed by the council as a measure to allow them to finish these cases.
