- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, December 19 - Latvia violated European Union law by barring from office its central bank governor, who is also a European Central Bank policymaker, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice argued on Wednesday.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Ilmars Rimsevics was suspended earlier this year on charges of corruption, leaving Latvia without a vote at ECB policy meetings and challenging a key plank of central bank independence.
Advocate General Juliane Kokott said Latvia had failed to provide evidence of corruption -- which Rimsevics denies -- and urged the court to find Latvia in violation of EU statutes.
"Although the documents contain a description of the acts allegedly committed by Mr Rimsevics, they do not contain any factual evidence capable of establishing that those acts did in fact take place," the court said in a statement.
"There is therefore no evidence before the Court that would allow it to ascertain whether the allegations made against Mr Rimsevics are well founded," it added.
However, the advocate made no mention of reinstating Rimsevics, possibly leaving the issue to the court, which is expected to deliver a verdict in the coming months.
Source: Reuters
Your Comment