Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu (ALDE) said on Thursday 10 January that his country's Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea, accused by OLAF of embezzling EU funds, had the right to take the European Commission to the EU Court of Justice.
"Everyone, even politicians, has the right to seek legal possibilities to prove their innocence", he told a group of journalists in Bucharest. “In all democratic systems of law, everybody is innocent until proven guilty”, the minister said.
On 28 December last year, the Court notified the Commission of Mr Dragnea's decision to pursue it concerning OLAF's investigation, accusing him of embezzling European funds. Mr Dragnea reportedly criticised OLAF for not having heard him in this case and for violating the presumption of innocence.
In February 2015, OLAF opened two investigations into projects financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for road construction in the country. The investigations, concluded in May and September 2016, recommended the recovery of €21 million and legal action through the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA). Liviu Dragnea was convicted at first instance in Romania.
Criticisms of the rule of law
Romania, which took over the EU Council Presidency on 1 January, has been criticised for its reform of the justice system and measures that would have weakened the fight against corruption (see EUROPE 12109). The former head of the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, Laura Codruta Kövesi, for example, was dismissed in July at the request of the government.
In its latest report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), the European Commission considers that Romania is regressing in terms of judicial reform and the fight against corruption. However, Mr Meleşcanu preferred to see the glass half full: "in this report, Romanian progress has been acknowledged in the creation of a functional rule of law and the fight against corruption", he said.
“We may be the country with the highest number of sentences for corruption”, added the head of diplomacy. But this situation could change. In an interview with the BBC on 8 January, the head of Romanian diplomacy said that pardoning or amnestying people convicted of corruption could be an “alternative solution” to unblock overcrowded prisons.
However, the Minister acknowledged that the application of the law was not perfect. “In the application of the law in Romania, there are successes achieved and also problems that have arisen, pressures on prosecutors, judges”, he explained. However, according to him, the government is not “at all at war with the judges”. “A fundamental element of the rule of law is the autonomy of the judiciary”, explained Mr Meleşcanu.
The Minister was open to cooperation with the Commission and the Council of Europe to improve the situation (see EUROPE 12122). For him, “dialogue with the Commission and the Venice Commission is almost the only way to achieve a perfect rule of law. Each country is trying to have positive developments”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs even explained that his country was in favour of an EU mechanism that would monitor the application of EU values and the rule of law in all European countries: "The rule of law and corruption are not limited to a few countries, which is why Romania supports an EU system to ensure that all countries comply with the EU's core values and the rule of law.”
In addition, when asked about the Commission's proposal to link the rule of law and European funds, Mr Meleşcanu explained that he was waiting for more details before taking a position. “We are waiting to see more concrete evidence on what it would be, how it would work, whether it will be possible to challenge the decision. This is a completely new development, I am not in a position to give an answer”, he explained. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)