President Says Stripping Integrity Agency Of Its Role Hurts Romania

Basescu said he wants to get a standpoint on the integrity agency issue from Government members.

„Basically, the integrity agency has been disbanded by the Constitutional Court’s ruling. It no longer has any attributions, to the joy of some and the detriment of Romania,” Basescu said in the opening of a meeting with Prime Minister Emil Boc and his Cabinet.

„Romania has managed to regain its credibility and avoid the triggering of a safeguard clause over its justice system through its reforms and the setting up of its integrity agency, among others,” Basescu said.

Romania’s National Integrity Agency, a EU-required institution, has been withdrawn its main attributions in screening public officials wealth and interest statements, following a Constitutional Court ruling last week.

The Court ruled several provisions of the law regulating the agency’s attributions and the agency, which was set up to screen public officials’ statements of wealth and interest for incompatibilities and notify prosecutors, has been stripped of its main role. According to the ruling, the agency may no longer publish officials’ wealth statements, not does it have the right to call for prosecution over its findings. The Constitutional Court’s ruling downsizes the agency’s role to simply collecting statements of wealth and interest from public officials.

Prime Minister Boc said Friday the Government is considering passing an emergency decree to amend the law regulating the agency as soon as the Court motivates its ruling.