(22 October 2019) – The European Commission adopted today its latest report on developments in Romania and Bulgaria on judicial reform and the fight against corruption, in the context of its commitments under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).
As for Romania, today’s report takes stock of the situation since November 2018. It notes that since the last report the Commission has had to raise a number of times rule of law-related concerns with the Romanian authorities in relation to developments on judicial reforms and the fight against corruption. On each of these occasions, the Commission has confirmed backtracking from the progress made in previous years and this evolution is a source of great concerns.
The evolution of the situation in the first months of 2019 was a source of great concern for the Commission. As a result, the Commission had to inform the Romanian authorities in May 2019 that if the necessary improvements were not made, or if further negative steps were taken, the Commission would take steps under the rule of law framework, beyond the parameters of the CVM.
The key institutions of Romania need to collectively demonstrate a strong commitment to judicial independence and the fight against corruption, and to ensure the effectiveness of national safeguards and checks and balances.
The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) was established at the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union in 2007 as a transitional measure to facilitate Romania’s and Bulgaria’s continued efforts to reform their judiciary and step up the fight against corruption.