“The most important next step will be for the government and the key institutions of Romania to demonstrate their commitment to the indispensable foundation stones of the rule of law and judicial independence. This requires a number of urgent steps by the government and Parliament,” reads the draft report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) obtained by Mediafax Tuesday.
The report will be debated on and approved by the European Commission Wednesday.
According to the draft report, the Commission makes a series of recommendations which summarize specific reforms needed to ensure progress under the CVM.
The Commission recommends Romania should:
– immediately adopt and publish an emergency ordinance repealing Emergency Ordinance 38/2012 (which recently amended the law on the functioning of the Constitutional Court, e.n.);
– immediately adopt and publish an emergency ordinance repealing Emergency Ordinance 41/2012 (which amended the referendum law, e.n.);
– respect constitutional requirements in issuing emergency ordinances in the future;
– ensure the immediate publication of all acts in the Official Journal, including decisions of the Constitutional Court;
– require all political parties and government authorities to respect the independence of the judiciary; with the commitment to discipline any government or party member who undermines the credibility of judges by criticizing judicial decisions, or puts pressure on judicial institutions;
– appoint an Ombudsman enjoying cross-party support, through a transparent and objective process, leading to the selection of a personality with uncontested authority, integrity, and independence;
– introduce a transparent process for the nomination of the General Prosecutor and the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Department. This should include open applications based on criteria of professional expertise, integrity and a track record of anti-corruption action. No nomination should be made under the acting Presidency;
– no presidential pardons should be granted during the acting Presidency;
– refrain from appointing ministers with integrity rulings against them; ministers in that situation should step down;
– adopt clear procedures which require the resignation of Members of Parliament with final decisions on incompatibility and conflict of interest, or with final convictions for high-level corruption.
According to the draft report, the Commission will adopt a further report under the CVM for Romania before the end of 2012, in which “it will look at whether the concerns it expresses regarding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary have been addressed and whether the democratic checks and balances have been restored. The Commission will monitor progress closely, with regular missions, as well as frequent dialogue with the Romanian authorities and with other Member States.”