EU prosecutors appoint delayed Slovenia nominees for 5 years

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — A European Union body says it has finally appointed two prosecutors from Slovenia. That has ended a standoff with the country’s right-wing government. But doubts remain over how long the pair will stay in the job. The  European Public Prosecutor’s Office began work in June. Its aim is to independently investigate crimes against the EU budget. Slovenia holds the high-profile EU presidency and it was alone among the 22 countries taking part that refused to name prosecutors. Prime Minister Janez Jansa says the Slovenian justice system’s procedure for nominating the two was not carried out correctly. He agreed to name them temporarily until the procedure can be repeated. But EPPO said Wednesday that “they have been appointed for a period of 5 years.”