Gunther Krichbaum, chairman of the European Affairs Committee with the German Bundestag, has sent a letter to European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker requesting again the triggering of article 7 against Romania.
The triggering of article 7 would result in losing the voting right in the European Council and of other rights, realitatea.net reports.
“I wonder what more measures should the Romanian Government and the parliamentary majority make so that the Commission takes over the initiative. This is why I ask you again to act by consequence and start the procedure to trigger article 7. This would be, right before the election for European Parliament, a sign of EU’s credibility and an support for the pro-European forces in Romania,” Krichbaum’s letter to EC President Juncker reads, according to G4Media.ro.
On February 15, 2019 Gunther Krichbaum sent a letter to European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, in which he criticized the Romanian Government for investigating former DNA chief prosecutor Laurea Codruta Kovesi by the special magistrates’ section. As ‘Romania Journal’ reported at the time, Krichbaum asked Timmermans to start the procedure he has already begun for Poland: “What other future steps towards the dismantling of the rule of law are we still waiting from the Romanian Government until the Commission starts the procedure to activate Article 7 of the EU Treaty?”
The European Commission has reacted after the Chamber of Deputies adopted on Wednesday the amendments to the Criminal Codes and a spokesman said that the amendments to the Criminal Codes will be analysed and the Commission will have to react quickly and use the means at its disposal.