The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on Romania to step up efforts to implement outstanding recommendations aimed at cracking down on corruption among lawmakers.
In report issued on Jan. 22, GRECO says Romania has fully implemented eight out of 13 recommendations contained in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report, adopted in 2015, on the prevention of corruption in respect of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors.
The five outstanding recommendations concern parliamentarians: two recommendations have been partly implemented, and three remain unimplemented.
GRECO acknowledges substantial progress on the regulation of lobbying. It welcomes the adoption in September 2025 of a legislative proposal introducing registration and disclosure requirements for lobbyists and MPs, together with enforcement and monitoring mechanisms.
However, no progress has been reported in preventing conflicts of interest or in establishing robust restrictions on gifts, hospitality, favors, and other benefits for parliamentarians.
GRECO notes that the Senate has taken steps to enhance transparency in both plenary and committee work. It has also made proposals to strengthen integrity in parliament by providing for specialized training and counseling. However, these proposals have yet to materialize in practice.
Moreover, no progress has been recorded on introducing criteria for when in camera meetings can be held, nor on ensuring that the urgent legislative procedure is applied only as an exception.
GRECO highlights that, in previous follow-up reports, it had found that Romania had already fully implemented all the recommendations concerning judges and prosecutors.
The Romanian authorities are expected to report back to GRECO on the actions taken to implement the five outstanding recommendations by 30 November 2026.
