The Commission will be "brutal" if necessary in its assessment of the rule-of-law situation and justice in Romania, and it will not hesitate to use all the instruments in its possession, starting with infringement procedures.
This is the commitment taken by European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who is responsible for fundamental rights, when he was speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday 3 October to MEPs concerned about the continued amendments of legislation in Romania, especially as regards the fight against corruption. Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, who is a former S&D MEP, was also present (see EUROPE 11956).
Timmermans had made the same promise to the Parliament's civil liberties committee during a similar debate on Monday evening.
Reforms of the Romanian criminal code, as well as reforms of the country's judicial system undertaken by the Romanian parliament at the end of 2017 and the departure of Romania's anti-corruption prosecutor "have raised concerns about the fact that they could undermine the efforts against corruption and undermine the independence of the judiciary", Timmermans stated, calling on Romania to respect the rule of law in order to remain strong in the EU and not to undo the progress achieved over recent years.
The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has already published warnings that have not yet been taken into account by the Romanian parliament, and it will publish a definitive opinion in October. The European Commission is meanwhile expected to publish its report on the cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM) in January. Romania has been subject to the CVM since 2007, and these events will mark it strongly, as will the dismissal of the anti-corruption prosecutor.
Alongside Timmermans, several leaders of the European Parliament's political groups, including Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt for ALDE, called on Romania not to follow the example of Poland and Hungary. Believing the problems of "widespread corruption" need to be addressed urgently, as well as the problems linked to the secret service, Verhofstadt said that "weakening the fight against corruption reminds us of bad practice. This is not the path to follow."
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, Germany) also criticised a new law that is currently being developed, which bans rallies and demands authorisation for them. Action needs to be taken to avoid "another Article 7 case", she said on Tuesday ahead of the debate. She was referring to the Treaty Article 7 procedure on the respect of the rule of law in a member state.
Dăncilă defended herself and stated on several occasions that in her opinion bad information was being spread about the reality of the situation in Romania. She also blamed the existence of a secret pact between the intelligence services and the anti-corruption office, according to which millions of Romanians have reportedly had their conversations bugged in recent years – a situation which justifies certain reforms. But there is no mention of this bugging scandal and this secret protocol in the CVM report, she stated, wondering why this had been concealed.
The ongoing reforms, by contrast, "give the judicial system its independence", she said, also telling her former colleagues that Romania would take account of the Venice Commission's opinion.
The MEPs will vote on a resolution on this subject in November. The resolution could be prepared by the civil liberties committee or several committees in parallel. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Marion Fontana)