Romania’s Prime Minister in Brussels
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday met with high-ranking EU officials in Brussels.
Ştefan Stoica, 05.06.2019, 13:55
The tone seems to have changed in the dialogue between the left-of-center Government in Bucharest and Brussels authorities after a long period ridden with warning signals launched by Brussels. Romanias Prime Minister and Social-Democrat interim leader Viorica Dancila was encouraged by EU officials, pledging not to continue any controversial judicial reforms.
The meeting follows the poor results grabbed by the Social-Democratic Party in the European Parliament election and the imprisonment of the Social-Democrat strongman Liviu Dragnea, sentenced for corruption. Observing the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary were high on the agenda of talks between Viorica Dancila and the President and Vice-President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and Frans Timmermans, respectively. The Prime Minister gave assurances that Romania wants an independent judiciary and to observe citizens rights.
As regards the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in the justice field, Viorica Dancila said talks have to be very strict, since some requirements can be implemented while others cant, because they go against Constitutional Court rulings.
Viorica Dancila: “I have reiterated what Ive been saying since I took over the interim presidency of the party, namely there wont be any emergency decrees in the justice field, as this discussion is now obsolete and we want an independent justice system, we want a rule of law and to observe the rights and liberties of our citizens. We also talked about the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, where talks have to be very punctual. Vice-President Frans Timmermans did not make any threats against Romania.
EU officials have hailed Romanias commitment to uphold the justice system and resume dialogue under CVM, with a view to reporting progress in terms of reforms and combating corruption. Not too long ago, however, the Commission warned Romania it would not hesitate to take swift action, including invoking Article 7, if Romanias actions went against European values.
According to a Government release, President Juncker thanked Prime Minister Dancila for the remarkable results obtained by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which completed over 100 pending files, some of the most notable being the European Border Police and Coast Guard, the European Labor Authority, the Copyright Directive and the Gas Directive. At political level, the Social-Democratic Party still has to mend its relations with the European Socialists. Concerns regarding the rule of law and the independence of the justice system prompted the latter to freeze relations with the Social-Democrats.
Prime Minister Dancila also met in Brussels with the President of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanishev, ensuring him the Social-Democratic Party is on the path to reform. Viorica Dancila pointed out the Social-Democratic Party belongs to the family of European Socialists, and that her party will make efforts to stay the course.
(translated by: Vlad Palcu)
