GRECO report on Romania
Romania has not complied with all corruption prevention recommendations, according to the latest report of the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body
Mihai Pelin, 06.05.2021, 13:50
Romania continues to lag behind with regard to judicial reforms and the fight against corruption, according to the latest report by GRECO, the Council of Europe’s specialized body. According to the document, Romania has implemented only five of the 18 GRECO recommendations.
Overall, the Bucharest authorities appear determined to remedy or abandon many of the controversial legal reforms adopted during the previous Social Democratic administration, the report reads. However, the level at which anti-corruption recommendations are implemented among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors remains unsatisfactory.
As for Members of Parliament, the level remains unchanged, with the exception of some procedural requirements, with only two of the nine recommendations implemented. Given the importance of these recommendations for preventing corruption among parliamentarians, GRECO emphasizes that more determined action is needed to implement them.
Regarding the prevention of corruption among judges and prosecutors, the report shows that much more determined steps are needed in this direction as well.Following the strongly criticized reforms of the criminal justice system (2017-2018) in Romania and GRECO’s decision to apply its ad-hoc procedure, the Council of Europe body now acknowledges that some measures and initiatives have been taken, which have the potential to rectify many of the shortcomings.
The report also shows that a stronger role for the Supreme Council of Magistracy in this process is still needed, and the involvement of the executive power, i.e. the Minister of Justice, in appointing or removing top prosecutors should be diminished to ensure judicial independence.It is also necessary to establish clear and objective criteria for the promotion of judges and prosecutors, taking into account their real qualifications and merits.
In Bucharest, the Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has stated that the GRECO report shows that Romania is on the right track. Justice laws will no longer be abused and we will not witness again what happened between 2017 and 2019, he said.
GRECO aims to improve the capacity of its members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with anti-corruption standards. It helps states identify shortcomings in national anti-corruption policies, leading to the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. The Group currently comprises the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the United States. (MI)
