The Romanian government is ready to abandon its most controversial reforms, according to Social Democratic Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă. In an interview with Politico, the Romanian leader said she was ready to "abandon" these controversial reforms, the most sensitive of which recently concerned amnesties for corruption cases.
The Prime Minister's SPD party suffered a triple snub by losing the European elections on 26 May, the presidential referendum on reforms on the same day and seeing its leader, Liviu Dragnea, sentenced to three and a half years in prison on 27 May for corruption (see EUROPE 12264/8).
The country is also under threat of a 'Rule of law' procedure, with the potential opening of the first phase of the 'Rule of law' mechanism, if the country does not revert back into accordance with the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, as Frans Timmermans indicated on 13 May (see EUROPE 12253/15).
This subject of the Rule of law "has done great damage to the party and has polarized our society", said the Prime Minister Dăncilă. "I want the PSD to become a balanced party and, from now on, the issue of justice removed from the government's agenda; we will focus on areas of priority interest to citizens, such as health, education and infrastructure".
The leader said it was time to "return to normal" and "therefore to the Party of European Socialists (which froze relations with the Romanian SPD in April)". The subject of the Rule of law - in this case in Poland and Hungary - is due to return to the General Affairs Council on 18 June. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)