The return of former Romanian S&D MEP Viorica Dăncilă, now Prime Minister of Romania, to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 15 January was eventful. While wishing for a good Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, many MEPs expressed their concerns about the rule of law in Romania.
“A Presidency is always the time for a country to shine”, warned Ska Keller (Greens/EFA Co-President, Germany) during a debate on the priorities of the Romanian EU Council Presidency. “When you look at the government's situation, there are reasons to be concerned[...] Civil liberties and good governance are under attack by the government and there are changes that will de facto promote corruption”, she said, asking Romania to set an example and demonstrate credibility. “There is still time to become this example, but time is running out”, she added.
ALDE President Guy Verhofstadt went even further. "I hope that there will be no 3rd case of triggering Article 7 on the Romanian case. My impression is that you are not far from it at all, at the moment, by ignoring the point of view of the Venice Commission” (see EUROPE 12122), he launched at Mrs Dăncilă, denouncing the draft amnesty law on corruption.
Even the President of the S&D Group, Udo Bullmann of Germany, expressed concern about the situation in Romania, but more to overwhelm the Romanian President of the EPP, Klaus Iohannis. "There are things that concern us in the Romanian judicial system. “There are reforms to be carried out, we must fight corruption”, he explained, adding that it was unacceptable that the secret service - under the responsibility of the President - should have an influence on justice. According to him, “problems must be discussed with the appropriate interlocutors”. "People have suffered from errors of justice, but there can be no general amnesty, we must restore the rule of law where necessary. I know you want it and I can only encourage you to do so”, he added addressing the Prime Minister.
Ms Dăncilă reacted at length at the end of the debate to criticism of her government, calling a number of attacks disinformation. In particular, she asked Mr Verhofstadt to “let the Romanian citizens decide for themselves” and told Ms Keller that her country was well managed. Proof of this, according to her, is growth above 4%, a deficit of 2.9%, and unemployment below 4%.
Double standards
Ms Dăncilă denounced the discrimination against her country, recalling that Romania was still not a member of the Schengen area. "We defend equal treatment. This is essential to build citizens' confidence in the European project. Romanians have a strong attachment to the EU, but they do not feel treated equally when their country is criticised for things that also exist in other countries or when things are imposed only on Romania”, she explained.
The Romanian socialist was supported by her compatriot Theodor Stolojan, despite being a member of the EPP, who asked her to meet the leaders of countries that are opposed to Romania's entry into the Schengen area, which includes the Netherlands, France, Germany and also Austria.
Appeal to the Union of Institutions
Despite the tensions, the Prime Minister said she was relying “greatly” on the support of MEPs to conclude as many legislative dossiers as possible. More than 240 laws still need to be agreed upon by the co-legislators. “We must focus on building the EU, the Romanian Presidency is betting a lot on the support of the Parliament and of the Commission”, she argued.
“We will have to work together”, Vice-President Andrus Ansip also insisted, on behalf of the Commission. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)