Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Friday that the European Commission’s First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, is waiting for Romania to answer to 18 questions referring to concrete provisions in the laws of justice, in order to “explain or envisage a possible change”.
Asked what answers Frans Timmermans expects from the letter sent to the Prime Minister after the debate hosted by the European Parliament, Meleşcanu said: “He naturally awaits the answer to the 18 questions, which generally refer to the concrete provisions of the laws of justice, with the desire that the Romanian side explains or considers a possible amendment.”
The European Commission has sent a letter to the Romanian authorities, asking a series of questions about the legislative developments in the field of justice.
”The Commission closely follows the developments in Romania, especially the legislative developments on the laws of justice and the laws on the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. We are analyzing the amendments regarding their compliance with the EU legal framework and we have sent precise and detailed questions to the Romanian authorities on these issues of interest,” an EC spokesman said on October 7.
On October 3, a debate on the state of rule of law in Romania was held in the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă and European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans were also present. The latter warned the authorities in Bucharest that the EU executive would be tough if necessary in the evaluation of Romania while Viorica Dăncilă tried to convince that Romania would respect the rule of law and that it would not abandon from its pro-European path.