In November 2018 the European
\nParliament passed a resolution that mirrored its concern with the recent
\nchanges in the Romanian judicial system, changes promoted by the left-of-center
\nruling majority made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance
\nof Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
These changes risk jeopardizing the
\nseparation of powers within the state and undermining the fight against
\ncorruption, the resolution said. Six months on, a new debate on the rule of law
\nin Romania was held, with no improvement being reported by the country’s
\nEuropean partners. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On the contrary, they warned the power
\nin Bucharest again, that they must put the reform process back on track and
\nfight against corruption. Romania needs to put the reform process back on
\ntrack and to do it urgently, Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told the
\nEuropean Parliament in Strasbourg on April 15. This means going forward,
\nnot backwards, and abstaining from any steps which reverse the progress
\naccomplished over the past years, she added. Jourova cited very
\nreal risks of further steps backwards regarding the rule of law and, more
\nspecifically, the independence of judiciary and the fight against
\ncorruption. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
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\n
<\/p>\n
What happened during the process of
\nappointing the European prosecutor did not make things any clearer, Jurova went
\non saying. The European Commissioner referred to the case of the former anti-graft
\nchief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, whose candidacy for the post of
\nEuropean prosecutor is strongly supported by the European Parliament but
\nequally contested by the Bucharest authorities who did everything in their
\npower to prevent her from being appointed, which Brussels couldn’t help
\nnoticing. Social Democrat MEP, Dan Nica, explains why Kovesi should not be
\nEuropean prosecutor:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Dan Nica: In 2009, Romania’s general prosecutor signed the first secret protocol
\nwith the Intelligence Services. Surprisingly, that prosecutor was Kovesi. In
\nthe past two years, a series of secrete protocols signed with the intelligence
\nservices have been revealed. Romanians have thus been informed that these
\nprotocols allowed for abominable abuse and injustice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Cristian Preda, a Romanian MEP
\nrepresenting the opposition, accuses the power in Bucharest of abuse on justice.
\nCristian Preda:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Cristian Preda: The regime in Bucharest is no longer a rule of law, because the ruling
\nmajority has been making, as of 2016, huge pressure on judges, prosecutors and
\nmagistrates, to force them to revise sentences, definitive sentences, and make
\nthem stop prosecuting corruption deeds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Among the foreign MEPs, there were
\nvoices that criticized the absence from the debate of a representative of
\nRomania’s government, given that the country holds the six-month presidency of
\nthe Council of the EU. Monday’s debate in the European Parliament did not end
\nwith a resolution, as in the case of the previous debate. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Parliament has again cautioned Bucharest to put the reforms on justice back on track<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":81458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31568,39634,30138,37379,39632,39633],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-81457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-dan","tag-jourova","tag-kovesi","tag-meps","tag-nica","tag-vera"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n