EC Interim Justice Report Says Romania Didn’t Sustain Reform Momentum

RFI reported the interim report states Romania has not been able to sustain the reform momentum it had gained mid-2009, not the rhythm of its undertaken commitments.

The Commission also notes delays in the adoption of the country’s Criminal and Civil Procedure Codes.

The cited draft report also notes the Anticorruption Department has continued to register good results and the number of high-level corruption files has increased by one third in 2009 compared to 2008.

The European Commission hopes to adopt its interim justice reports on Romania and Bulgaria next week, Commission spokesman Mark Gray said Monday, adding the reports will be factual and won’t include political assessments.

„Those (political assessments -e.n.) will come in the annual report that we give in the summer,” Gray said.

Romania, which joined the European Union in 2007 together with Bulgaria, was imposed a cooperation and verification mechanism (MCV) in the justice sector. Under the mechanism, the country must consolidate transparency and efficiency in the act of justice, report and monitor the impact of its new criminal and civil procedure codes, set up an integrity agency to screen officials’ wealth and find possible cases of incompatibility with public office and tackle corruption.

The European Commission publishes an interim report on the country’s progress usually in February, followed by a final report in summer.