The European Commission confirmed on Monday 13 May that it had sent a letter to the Romanian authorities on 10 May, the day after the informal summit in Sibiu, warning them that, without seeing an improvement in the situation, and without revising highly controversial measures such as recent amendments to the Criminal Code concerning crimes of corruption, it would trigger the Rule of law mechanism “without delay” and would suspend the cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM) to which the country has been subject since 2007.
This letter was sent to the Romanian President, the Romanian Prime Minister and the President of the Senate, explained Margaritis Schinas, the spokesperson for the institution, who confirmed information from Politico.
In this letter, the Commission lists the concerns raised by a series of measures and, more specifically, the issues raised by recent reforms such as amendments to the Criminal Code, which now allows impunity scenarios for corruption cases (see EUROPE 12243/11). The letter, according to Mr Schinas, also notes problems with reforms that affect the independence of the judiciary or European funds.
The Romanian representation in Brussels confirmed that the letter had been received but did not specify whether, or indeed when, the Romanian authorities would reply. The first phase of the Rule of law mechanism involves sending recommendations. This can then be reflected in the triggering of Article 7, as was the case for Poland at the end of 2017. The Commission is expected to propose further tools in June. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)