On Tuesday 22 October the European Commission once more took stock of progress made by Bulgaria and Romania in meeting their commitments to judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). It recommended that Bulgaria should leave the CVM, while Romania should still remain under its supervision for some time.
The Commission considers that Bulgaria's progress under the CVM is "sufficient" to meet the commitments made by the country at the time of its accession to the EU.
In addition to the commitment to continue anti-corruption reforms, the Commission notes in particular the commitment of the Bulgarian government to put in place procedures to ensure the accountability of the Prosecutor General, including the preservation of the independence of the judiciary, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
Nevertheless, Bulgaria will have to monitor the implementation of its reforms through a newly and specifically created Monitoring Committee. It will act as a contact point and will "feed into the future dialogue with the Commission as part of the comprehensive mechanism for the protection of the rule of law", the Commission specifies.
In fact, Bulgaria will now be monitored through the new annual monitoring mechanism for respect for the rule of law, which the Commission wants to set up (see EUROPE 12298/2), like all other Member States.
This is not yet a "formal decision", clarified a European official. The Commission must first consult the EU Council and the European Parliament. Consulting the EU Council is provided for in the Act of Accession itself and should be carried out through EU Council conclusions, he specified. As for consulting the European Parliament, even if it is not specifically provided for, this was decided by the College of Commissioners.
"This is not a veto, it is a consultation rather than something with legal force", he insisted. The final decision will indeed be taken by the European Commission and it is unlikely, in his opinion, that this decision will take place before the end of the Juncker Commission's mandate.
Romania is far behind
For Romania, the road to an exit from the CVM still seems long. However, at the time of the January 2017 evaluation (see EUROPE 11711/8), Bucharest seemed closer than Sofia to being exempted from this supervision by 2019.
In its report, the Commission notes with regret that the country has not implemented the eight additional recommendations made in its November 2018 report (see EUROPE 12136/15).
"Judges and prosecutors have continued to face misleading coverage and unduly personal attacks in the media (...) Different branches of the State have again been in conflict, and increasingly these divisions are played out in the Constitutional Court, further increasing tensions...", the report points out.
The same European official considered that, in the first 6 months following the November 2018 report, there had been a "clear deterioration" of the situation in the country, although he acknowledged that some progress had since been made.
The European Commission recalls that, since the previous report, it has had to raise with the Romanian authorities, on several occasions, its concerns about the rule of law with regard to the development of judicial reforms and the fight against corruption.
After threatening last May to activate the rule of law enforcement mechanism against the country (see EUROPE 12253/15), it welcomed the fact that in June, the Romanian government expressed its wish to review its approach (see EUROPE 12268/16) and now expects this commitment to be translated into concrete measures.
The Commission will therefore continue to closely monitor developments in Romania, again through the CVM.
See the report for Bulgaria: http://bit.ly/2W7PsBM and for Romania: http://bit.ly/2MDgmyf (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)