Romania’s Integrity Agency Head Says A Quarter Of Lawmakers Are Under Scrutiny

Romania’s Integrity Agency head Catalin Macovei said Saturday, during a talk show on Realitatea TV, the agency currently has over 100 lawmakers under scrutiny, which is a quarter of the country’s MPs, adding he is eager to see Parliament debates on the new law regulating the agency.

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"More than 100 lawmakers, that is a quarter of all MPs, are being investigated so I'm looking forward to debates in Parliament on the new law regulating the agency," Macovei said.

He added the agency is also working on files targeting former and current government members, mayors and heads of county councils, but declined to give any names.

He said the agency is currently working on about 4,000 files targeting public officials and has recently recommended prosecution for incompatibility with public office or presumably illicit gains for former youth and sports minister Sorina Placinta, former finance minister Gheorghe Pogea, former health minister Eugen Nicolaescu and former senator Serban Bradisteanu.

Romania's integrity agency, a EU-required anticorruption body, has been stripped of its main attributions in screening public officials wealth and interest statements and recommending prosecution for wrongdoing, following a Constitutional Court ruling last week.

The Court, which motivated its decision Thursday, said the agency mistakes investigative for judicial powers, its publication of public officials' wealth statements breaches the right to privacy and the agency's role, as regulated by law, doesn't apply the presumption of innocence and forces the people investigated to bring in evidence proving their innocence.

The Constitutional Court also said Thursday the Government cannot pass an emergency decree to keep the agency functioning. The Court said the Government may, however, initiate a draft law, but it is the Parliament's prerogative to fix the law regulating the agency's activity.

Legislators have 45 days to amend the provisions in the law the Court deemed unconstitutional.

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