13/12/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 13 December, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe decided to carry out timely and urgent assessments of law bills concerning judicial powers in Romania and two Polish bills on the reorganisation of the Supreme Court and the National Court Register (see EUROPE 11922). These texts could threaten the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, in GRECO's view. This procedure, which is provided for in the event that an institutional reform or legislative initiative could cause a serious violation of an anti-corruption standard of the Council of Europe, has never before been used. Bucharest and Sofia have until 15 January to provide GRECO with additional information. GRECO will carry out its assessment by February at the latest, to arrive at conclusions ahead of 2018 plenary session. (VL)