European Commission notes Romania’s improved anti-corruption efforts in new report

The interim report issued by the European Commission (EC) today under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) says that anti-corruption bodies set up by Romanian authorities are starting to improve their track record.

EC says Romania has accelerated high-level corruption trials, thus streamlining the judicial process and securing timely final court decisions.

A new civil code entered into force last October and the civil procedure code should follow this June, but the EC wants a clear implementation plan for the criminal code and the criminal procedure code, in terms of targeted recruitment and resource management.   

The Commission says that Romania needs to improve the disciplinary responsibility of the judiciary, pointing to a high corruption case where authorities did not remove the judge from a management position, hampering the reputation of the judiciary.  

The interim report considers the appointment to positions in High Court of Cassation and Justice to lack transparency and objectivity, while  motivated court decisions need to be enforced during deadlines in order to avoid delays in high-level corruption cases, which lead to statue-barred period.  

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The anti-corruption department DNA improved its prosecution service last year, as 158 final court decisions were concluded in DNA cases, including senior politicians and officials.

The National Integrity Agency ANI  has also improved its track record since 2010, as it identified 18 cases amounting to EUR 5.7 million of potential unexplained assets, 23 cases of conflict of interests and 118 cases of incompatibilities.     

Since last July, when the last report was issued, Romania has taken measures to prevent corrupt practices in the management of public funds.     

The Commission will issue this summer a full report of Romania’s CVM progress, 5 years from EU accession.

Ovidiu Posirca