EC Report On Romania Points To Shortcomings, Integrity Agency Law Seen As Significant Step Back

"In this year's report the Commission points to important shortcomings in Romania's efforts to achieve progress under the CVM (Cooperation and Verification Mechanism). Romania did not show sufficient political commitment to support and provide direction to the reform process and demonstrated a degree of unwillingness within the leadership of the judiciary to cooperate and take responsibility," the Commission noted in the report, adding "these weaknesses must be corrected urgently in order to regain momentum in the reform process.

At present, the Commission considers that the new law on ANI represents a significant step back in the fight against corruption and breaches commitments Romania has taken upon accession, the report states.

In April 2010, Romania's Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional important parts of the law on the National Integrity Agency (ANI), a EU-required body set up under the CVM to screen public officials' wealth and recommend prosecution over incompatibilities with public office and unjustified wealth.

"Responding to this ruling the Romanian Senate adopted a new law on ANI on 30 June 2010. However, this new law seriously undermines the process for effective verification, sanctioning and forfeiture of unjustified assets," the report noted.

The EC said in the report the amended law restricts the transparency of financial and economic interests of dignitaries and public officials and excludes dissuasive sanctions that protect against corruption and interrupts the encouraging development of ANI and breaches commitments taken by Romania upon accession to the EU, in 2007.

The EC noted ANI's consolidation of its capacity and track record regarding the identification of unjustified wealth, incompatibilities and conflicts of interest but warned these achievements are threatened by detrimental changes to the law on ANI which were adopted on 30 June as a reaction to a decision by the Romanian Constitutional Court.

"The amendments to the law on ANI adopted by Parliament in response to the decision of the Constitutional Court remove the possibilities to sanction discrepancies between assets and income identified and therefore eliminates the control of dignitaries' and officials' accumulation of wealth whilst in public office. In excess of the requirements of the court, the other amendments introduced in Parliament reduce the effectiveness of ANI's investigations and the transparency of assets by introducing less comprehensive declarations," the report states.

Clearly, the report states, Parliament and Government have the responsibility to amend the law that was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court but equally, given the commitments made at the time of accession, it has the responsibility to find adequate legal ways to deliver on its EU commitments.

At the notice of President Traian Basescu, the Constitutional Court ruled on July 19 that the revised version of the law is unconstitutional, which, the EC said, provides an opportunity to adopt a new law in conformity with Romania's obligations.

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