Romania must ensure a safe revision of its justice bills, introduce lobbying rules for lawmakers and safeguard the independence of media outlets, the European Commission recommended on Wednesday.
Recommendations
In addition to recalling the commitments made under Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan relating to certain aspects of the justice system, the anti-corruption framework and the legislative process, as well as the recommendations under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), the Commission made six specific recommendations to Romania under its latest Rule of Law Report.
The country should ensure that the revision of the justice laws reinforces safeguards for judicial independence, including to reform the disciplinary regime for magistrates, the Commission said.
Romania should also take measures to address remaining concerns about the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in the judiciary, taking into account European standards and relevant Venice Commission opinions.
Lobbying
The EU’s executive body also called on Romania to introduce rules on lobbying for politicians and address the operational challenges of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, including the recruitment of prosecutors, and closely monitor the impact of the new system on investigating and prosecuting corruption offenses in the judiciary.
Romania must also strengthen the rules and mechanisms to enhance the independent governance and editorial independence of public service media taking into account the European standards in the area.
It said the „the situation regarding threats, instances of harassment and violence against
journalists is more concerning compared to last year,” citing the example of two
journalists and an environmental activist who were attacked in Sept, 2021 while filming a documentary about illegal deforestation.
Intimidation
The report also mentioned intimidation of journalist Emilia Sercan, without mentioning her by name, which led to international press freedom groups calling on Romanian authorities to launch an investigatin.
The report also said Romania needs to ensure effective public consultation before the adoption of draft legislation and continue efforts to establish a National Human Rights Institution taking into account the UN Paris Principles.
CVM
In its last report on Romania’s progress on specific recommendations under the CVM published in June 2021, the EC noted that the country has made some advances in complying with the recommendations, but still needs to fulfil some of the guideline.
Since Romania joined the EU in 2007, the Commission has followed the progress of reforms in the areas of justice and anti-corruption through the CVM.
