Brussels, 03/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU Justice and Fundamental Rights Commissioner Viviane Reding reiterated in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde on 1 September that she was concerned about the political situation in Romania and Hungary. The European Commission has already issued a number of infringement proceedings against the latter over matters such as laws to change the legal system (later cancelled by the Hungarian supreme court) and protection of personal information.
Commenting on Romania and its prime minsiter Victor Ponta, who were in the news again in August when the Romanian constitutional court announced its ruling on the 29 July referendum in the country, the commissioner said she would 'not be surprised' if the EU member states refused to allow Romania to join the Schengen area in September. Reding said the decision had to be taken unanimously by the member states as to whether they would open up their borders, and it would follow a political analysis of the situation. The key question, she said, is whether people can trust Romania's rule of law. Reding explained that the Schengen area is not just about technical border control, as evaluated by the Commission, but also about proper functioning of the justice system and the guarantees it provides. In the past, despite the controversy it generated, the Commission has always ruled out any connection between joining the Schengen area and its assessment of the country's progress in the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), and Reding's comments have angered the Romanian foreign minister, who said he was 'surprised' at the commissioner's comments. As far as Romania is concerned, Reding's linking of the question of joining Schengen and the justice situation in Romania lays the foundations for discriminatory treatment against a member state that has met all its obligations under EU law, added the foreign minister. Viviane Reding said that Hungary was one of the countries that she was most concerned about. She explained that the justice system had to be independent, and there were still problems in this connection. (SP/transl.fl)