On Friday 11 January, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, called on the various heads of institutions and political parties in Romania to put aside their differences in order to carry out their country's first Presidency of the Council of the EU.
“Do not export to Europe any internal problems you may have; it does not make things happen and would be harmful”, he warned at his press conference in Bucharest with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă.
A few minutes earlier, with President Klaus Iohannis, he had already warned against divisions in the country. “It is useful for there to be an atmosphere within the country, a consensus that would allow the EU to move forward [...] We cannot have a controversy without meaning and purpose because we can encounter difficulties internally”, explained Mr Juncker. According to him, Romania, “which wants to be useful to Europe, must be useful in establishing the preconditions that will enable it to successfully carry out its presidency”.
And though the Prime Minister, the President, the President of the Senate and the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies understood this message, according to Mr Juncker, the divisions were well present in the speeches of the Romanian leaders the day before, during the opening ceremony of the Presidency.
Indeed, the Vice-President of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Florin Iordache, spoke only on behalf of the majority. The President of the Chamber, Liviu Dragnea, accused by OLAF of embezzling European funds, was conspicuous in his absence (see EUROPE 12169). "I assure you, Mr [...] Juncker, that the decision-makers of the majority political party in Bucharest understood very well what Romania's role is in this position [as President of the Council of the EU]. I have treated with all seriousness the recommendations for ensuring political consensus during the Presidency. The parliamentary majority in Bucharest has the necessary wisdom and political maturity to assist the government in fulfilling out its mission [...] I hope that the same approach will be adopted by the other political forces", Mr Iordache said.
But the President of the Senate, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu (ALDE), attacked the government violently for regression in terms of the rule of law. “As a reminiscence of the communist past, some institutions and decision-makers are still holding on to the unchecked power they have previously indulged in. These actors have simply replaced the ideology of socialist legality with that of the rule of law, keeping their habits and claiming the same unaccountability they collectively enjoyed before 1989”, he decried.
He expressed his conviction that under the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the authorities of his country “will clarify for the public eye what are the institutions that have been indisputably transformed in the European spirit and which of them are still hanging on the past, sometimes under a European disguise”. “Such clarifications should provide enough reasons for our fellow European decision-makers, both in Brussels and in the Member States, to leave behind some of the current misconceptions about Romanian public life”, he added.
The amnesty law would be a step backwards in the rule of law, according to Mr Juncker
The rule of law was at the heart of the opening ceremony. The Prime Minister defended the ongoing reforms. Recalling that the Romanian Constitution had been drafted with the agreement of Europeans and that it governed the rule of law, Ms Dăncilă considered that it was possible to affirm “with full conviction that all that is European is constitutional and in equal measure everything that is constitutional is in full agreement with European values and principles”.
This explanation did not seem to convince Mr Juncker and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, underlining the importance of European values and the rule of law.
"Yes, the European Union is made up of compromises, but when it comes to human rights, the rule of law, respect for the rule of law and the fight against corruption, there is no compromise", Mr Juncker warned. Asked about the ongoing discussions on the adoption of a law on amnesty for persons convicted of corruption (see EUROPE 12169), the President of the Commission was clear: “There can be no compromise when it comes to the essential, which would be impacted if an amnesty such as some in Romania envisage were adopted, it would be a step backwards”, he warned. According to Mr Iohannis, Parliament understands that this law would be "a huge problem, not just for the six months" of Romania's presidency.
And if Mr Juncker gave his support at the end of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) before the end of his mandate, this must be done "on condition that all efforts are made on the Romanian and European sides to ensure that this can be done under the right conditions".
Appeal for the defence of the rule of law
In a speech in Romanian, Mr Tusk made a comparison with Steaua Bucharest's victory over FC Barcelona in the 1986 European Cup final. “I would like to appeal to all Romanians to defend, at home and in Europe, the foundations of our political civilisation - freedom, integrity, truth in public life, the rule of law and the Constitution - with the same determination as Helmuth Duckadam when he defended penalty shots. Back then, I also couldn't believe it was possible to save four penalties in a row! But he made it. And you will make it too”, he said hopefully. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)