The European Commission reviewed on Tuesday 13 November the progress made by Bulgaria and Romania in meeting their commitments to judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). The situation is clear: Bulgaria is making progress while Romania is regressing.
As a reminder, both countries have been subject to such monitoring since their accession to the Union in 2007. However, at the time of the January 2017 evaluation (see EUROPE 11711), Bucharest seemed closer than Sofia to being exempted from this supervision by 2019.
An exit from the mechanism in 2019 remains realistic for Bulgaria
In its report, the Commission considers that, of the 17 recommendations made in January 2017, several have already been implemented. On this basis, it considers that three out of six benchmarks - independence of the judiciary, legislative framework and the fight against organised crime - can be considered provisionally closed.
"If this current positive trend continued and Bulgaria maintains the reforms momentum in a sustainable and irreversible way the Commission is confident that the CVM process for Bulgaria can be concluded before the end of this commission mandate", said the first Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, at a press conference.
Nevertheless, he wanted to qualify: it is an "objective" and not a "deadline". Bulgaria still has a long way to go in terms of judicial reforms and corruption in high-level spheres and needs to continue to build on its record of "concrete results", according to the Commission.
Eight new immediate recommendations for Romania
For Romania, the Commission has been much less optimistic and considers that "recent events have reversed the situation and called into question the positive assessment made in January 2017".
Under fire from criticism: the reforms that the Social Democratic Government of Viorica Dăncilă has implemented in recent months (see other news).
"It is a marathon and it will be a tragedy if at the final few hundred meters up of the marathon the runner would start running in the other direction", said Timmermans, calling on the country not to "get discouraged".
In addition to the 12 recommendations made in January 2017 - for which the Commission notes very little progress - the report sets out eight additional recommendations for immediate implementation to put the country back on track.
In particular, the Commission calls for the immediate suspension of the implementation of the justice laws and the subsequent emergency ordinances. It also calls for the immediate suspension of all ongoing appointment and dismissal procedures for senior prosecutors and the resumption of a procedure for the appointment of a Chief Prosecutor in the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.
Romania is also requested to immediately freeze the entry into force of the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure and to reopen their revision, ensuring their compatibility with EU law.
Asked about a possible activation of Article 7 against Romania, Frans Timmermans indicated that no discussion on this subject was ongoing. "We have a CVM process. Let's use that process. All the instruments are there to have a successful change and to go in the right direction", he replied.
Freedom of the media
It should be noted that the reports for both countries also include media freedom, a factor that certainly goes beyond the scope of the CVM, but has an impact on the progress of reforms, Frans Timmermans argued.
For Bulgaria, the Commission has indeed noted a "significant deterioration of the country's media environment" in recent years.
The Commission will carry out a new evaluation before the end of its mandate. "We don't do it to punish, we do it to help... But if we can't say in good conscience that what had to be done has been achieved, we will not hesitate to continue with the MCV process", concluded Mr Timmermans. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)