According to Art. 14(1) of the EPPO Regulation, the European Chief Prosecutor is appointed for a non-renewable term of seven years. As the current term of the European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi is nearing its end on 31 October 2026, the Commission has published an open call for candidates for the position in the Official Journal of the EU on 28 April 2025.

The European Chief Prosecutor leads the EPPO in organising its work, directing its activities, and taking decisions in accordance with the EPPO Regulation and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. He/she represents the EPPO vis-à-vis the institutions of the Union and of the Member States of the European Union and third parties. The European Chief Prosecutor also has other duties and responsibilities in accordance with the EPPO Regulation, e.g.:

• Making a proposal to the College of the EPPO for appointments to the position of European Delegated Prosecutor and to the position of Administrative Director of the EPPO;
• Taking part in and chairing the meetings of the Permanent Chambers in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO;
• Preparing and chairing regular meetings of the College of the EPPO;
• Preparing estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the EPPO for each financial year, corresponding to the calendar year, on the basis of a proposal drawn up by the Administrative Director;
• Making proposals for implementing rules and programme documents for adoption by the College;
• Meeting on a regular basis with the President of Eurojust to discuss issues of common concern and, where appropriate, participating in the meetings of the College of Eurojust;
• Meeting on a regular basis with the heads of other relevant EU bodies, offices, and agencies, such as Europol and OLAF, and relevant networks of Union agencies;
• Carrying out any other task, as provided in the EPPO Regulation, the Decisions of the College, and the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

To be considered for the selection phase, candidates must meet several minimum requirements, for instance holding citizenship of one of the EU Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO. Another eligibility criteria is for instance that the candidates possess the qualifications required for appointment to the highest prosecutorial or judicial offices in their respective Member States and have relevant practical experience of national legal systems, financial investigations and of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, obtained at domestic, European or international level, or have served as European Prosecutors. Following the selection procedure, the European Chief Prosecutor is appointed by the European Parliament and the Council by common accord.