Brussels, 17/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - More than six months after the start of the crisis and some ten days after the general elections which saw the victory of the centre-left coalition, the expert group of the Council of Europe responsible for the “health” of the democracy of its member countries, the Venice Commission, has taken the view that the various attempts made this summer by the same coalition to topple President Basescu, particularly by modifying the Constitution and methods of validating referendums, did not respect the basic principles of the rule of law.
The Commission has taken position on a raft of decisions and decrees reached this summer to prepare to remove the centre-right president from office, and has submitted its conclusions in an opinion adopted on Monday 17 December. In its opinion, the Commission also takes the view that the current organisation of the executive powers is not conducive to a sustainable coexistence of the president and the prime minister, with Basescu having to appoint his old rival and overwhelming winner of the elections of 9 December, Victor Ponta, to the post of prime minister. However, the Commission notes with satisfaction the commitment given by its interlocutors to implement legislative reforms to remedy this, it states in its document. Among the objections raised by the Commission were those concerning the effective suspension of the President for several weeks. On this point, the experts note that the procedure as a whole implies that the removal of the President may have been politically motivated rather than based on solid legal grounds. This gives rise to serious concerns. The Commission also voiced concerns over the mode of governance by emergency decrees and also spoke out against the fact that during the controversial events of this summer, personal or partisan ambitions and interests won out over general interests. Romania has received a warning from the European executive in recent months and will shortly be reassessed by the Commission in the framework of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). (SP/transl.fl)