The European Commission has organised on Tuesday a debate on the situation in Romania and said it will act swiftly concerning the issues of rule of law in Romania, an EC spokesperson said. The statements follow warnings from several EC officials who have requested the triggering of article 7 for Romania, if the Government does not make immediate decisions to defend the rule of law, hotnews.ro reports.
The European Commission members have discussed on Tuesday the rule of law in Romania, the spokesman said.
Asked if the EC will act swiftly in regard to the rule of law in Romania, the spokesman said, according to APA: “Yes, this will happen. The Commissioners’ College has been informed.”
Several weeks ago, the EC First Vice-president Frans Timmermans had warned that ‘immediate measures’ will be made regarding the problems in Romania. Last Friday, Timmermans said the EU Executive and the Party of European Socialists will not accept that Romania cuts down the intensity of anticorruption fight.
Let’s recall that Gunther Krichbaum, chairman of the European Affairs Committee with the German Bundestag, sent a letter to European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker requesting again the triggering of article 7 against Romania. He argued that since 2016 the PSD governments have systematically prevented the anticorruption fight and have worked against the rule of law.
On the other hand, on April 15, European Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova warned, in a speech addressed to the European Parliament, that the Bucharest authorities need to make urgent decisions, as there is risk of involvement in the judicial system, including in corruption cases, and this fact cannot be ignored.