The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe requests Romania to submit information in view of an evaluation report regarding the draft on laws of justice drawn up by the special parliamentary committee. GRECO has filed a written request addressed to Romania, by activating Regulation 34, which allows ad hoc procedures for exceptional situations, romaniatv.net informs.
In an official release, GRECO informs that, according to the Procedural Regulation 34, Romania’s head of delegation is requested to offer, by January 15, 2018, information in view of an ad hoc report on the issue of draft bills amendments debated by parliament on the judiciary.
The decision to file this request to Romania was made during the GRECO Plenary Meeting in Strasbourg (December 4-8, 2017).
Romania’s situation is to be assessed by GRECO in March 2018.
In a report published in January 2016, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body –GRECO stated that there is an unprecedented determination in combating corruption-related crimes affecting public institutions in Romania. Yet, the anti-corruption body called on Romanian authorities to step up efforts to prevent corruption by developing integrity rules for lawmakers, and increasing the effectiveness of existing measures for judges and prosecutors.
“Romania has taken important steps to investigate and prosecute corruption. It now needs to develop a more robust and effective system of prevention which would address problematic situations even before they turn into a criminal conduct,” Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland argued.
GRECO´s report pointed out that Romania was still at an early stage of implementation of corruption preventive policies for MPs. “The legislative process needs to become more transparent, to limit the use of expedited procedures, and to avoid the risks of manipulation,” the Council of Europe recommended.
PNL Chairman demands PSD-ALDE to give up the amendments to the laws of justice
PNL Chairman Ludovic Orban has made an appeal to PSD and ALDE to give up the debates and adoption this week of the amendments to the laws of justice, adding that the entire civilized world is concerned about the judiciary independence.
“After the US Department of State, the European Union takes stance through GRECO regarding the situation in Romania and Poland on justice. One cannot ignore the EU, the strategic partnership with the US, the entire civilized world is increasingly concerned about the violation of the justice independence and the possible attack against the laws against corruption,” Orban said.
The PNL Chairman has requested the ruling parties, out of respect for the memory of King Michael I, to stop forcing the debate and adoption of the legislative amendments which lead to fracture in the Romanian society.