Live replay of Debate on The rule of law in Romania: Opening statements by Juliane BOGNER-STRAUSS, Council and by Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the EC in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

EU - Romania (T)

TIMMERMANS, Frans (NL, EC)

EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (T)

BOGNER-STRAUSS, Juliane (AT)

Debate on The rule of law in Romania: Opening statements by Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the EC and Juliane BOGNER-STRAUSS, Council (9:08 - 09:19)

SOUNDBITE (English), Juliane BOGNER-STRAUSS, Austrian Federal Minister for Women, Families and Youth, You have invited the presidency to intervene in this debate to begin with I would like to underline the importance of common values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights as cornerstones of the European Union. It is crucial that every member state respects, protects and promotes them. Values like the rule of law and the separation of powers are not negotiable and have to be at the heart of our Attention.

It is of great importance to stay in constant dialogue and to cooperate in order to ensure the best standards and conditions for all citizens. The Council addressed the situation in Romania in its conclusions on the cooperation and verification mechanism adopted on December 12th 2017. The council reiterated the importance for Romania to focus on further consolidation and to fully address the concerns and the recommendations set out by the Commission in its report on progress achieved in Romania under the cooperation verification mechanism.

Of great value are also the widely acknowledged opinions of the Venice Commission. The president is aware that the Romanian authorities are in constant contact with both the Venice Commission and the European Commission to find solutions to the issues raised. Addressed that all sides are taking the issues raised in this dialogue seriously as they go to the heart of our commitment to this union. In this sense we hope that the ongoing exchange between the Romanian authorities and the Commission will continue to prove sufficient in addressing these issues in a manner that leaves no doubt about our core values. I will listen attentively to your debate as well as to the Romanian Prime Minister's intervention. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the EC in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, We last discussed the state of the rule of law in Romania in February and today today's a useful opportunity to take stock of the developments which have taken place in the months since. I'll try and be as concise as I can. We're all aware that the initiatives taken by the Romanian authorities since 2017 as concerns the reform of the justice laws, the criminal procedure and criminal codes and the processes regarding the judiciary have led to concerns from a wide range of stakeholders both inside and outside of Romania and the EU.

Many Romanians are worried that the proposed changes to these laws may undermine the long standing efforts in the fight against corruption and the independence of the judiciary. These are concerns the commission very much shares. As guardian of the treaties which comes with the application of EU law and the respect of the EU fundamental values, the commission intervenes on the basis of accurate and thorough legal analysis. It focuses on concrete national measures and it engages in a dialogue with the authorities and in these matters the commission is politically colorblind and clinical in our approach.

] That is the case for Romania just as much as any other member state. So with your permission I will set out the main developments in Romania. First the justice laws, the three justice laws dating back to 2004 define the status of magistrates and organise the judicial system and the Superior Council of Magistracy. At the end of last year the laws were amended by the Romanian parliament. These amendments have been challenged several times before the Constitutional Court. These laws have attracted criticism from institutions inside Romania and from outside.

The Council of Europe anti-corruption watchdog Dreco adopted a very critical report in March the Venice Commission's preliminary opinion issued in July was equally critical with serious concerns about the independence of the judiciary, its efficiency, and its quality. It made a series of recommendations. The final opinions is expected to be adopted later this month. I know this house will play pay as close attention to that opinion as we will at the commission but unfortunately the fact is that the Romanian Parliament so far so far has not shown signs of responding to the opinions and recommendations.

I Call on the Romanian authorities to conduct full and impartial investigations of this issue. Romanians deserve a law enforcement order with all authorities properly supervised and full judicial independence. The reform to the judicial laws and criminal codes are interlinked and it must be avoided that they have a negative impact on the independence of the judiciary and their effectiveness to combat corruption. That is why the commission has discussed this issue regularly with the Romanian government at the highest level and has made its concerns public. We have examined the text passed by the Romanian Parliament to fully assess their impact. We are seeking further clarification on how specific elements of these laws should be interpreted.

Thirdly as concerns the procedure to dismiss the chief anti-corruption prosecutor and evaluation of the general prosecutor I would like to recall that the track record of the anti-corruption prosecution the so-called DNA was a central reason for the more positive assessment of Romania that the commission made back in our cooperation and verification mechanism report in January 2017. Moreover.

Moreover robust and independent procedures for dismissal and appointment of top prosecutors have always been a key element in our recommendations. The commission has also recommended that the Romanian authorities seek the help of the Venice Commission in this matter. This remains one of the outstanding recommendations under the cooperation and verification mechanism.

Honourable members. We are following the latest developments in Romania with concern the independence of Romania's judicial system and its capacity to fight corruption effectively are essential cornerstones of a strong Romania in the European Union. We have seen substantial progress in the past but things are now moving backwards in a way that would be damaging for the place that Romania has built as an EU member state in recent years the commission has repeatedly called on the Romanian authorities to rethink their course of action and to build a broad consensus on the way forward.

]I want to reiterate that call today I would stress once again that the commission is always ready to cooperate with and support the Romanian authorities in this process. I trust this dialogue will continue and we will be meticulous and precise in all the elements in the proposals that we would like to discuss with the Romanian authorities. The latest developments are a source of growing concern for the commission if adopted without changes. The combined effect of the amended justice laws and the criminal codes would affect the capacity of the justice system including the prosecution service to effectively fight against corruption and other crimes. This means backtracking from the situation that led the commission to make a positive assessment in our report of January 2017. We Will report on the same situation in our next CVN report next month. You can see what our CVN progress report stated in January 2017 and what it did in the last report in November 2017.

The situation has deteriorated. Rest assured all developments will be thoroughly assessed and reflected in our upcoming report. President Juncker and I issued a joint statement already in January this year setting out our concerns on the direction of travel. We stated clearly at that point that the irreversibility of the progress achieved so far under the CVN is an essential precondition to phase out the mechanism. Without that we cannot phase out the mechanism. So while we will continue pursuing our objective objective of a sustainably positive situation in a dialogue with the Romanian authorities I wish also to be clear today. The commission will draw the appropriate conclusions if the amendments to the Justice Law Criminal codes and laws and conflict of interest and corruption are promulgated without taking account of the concerns.

Concretely this means following up our recommendations from January 2017 TVM report the recommendations expressed by the Venice Commission and by Grackle as a gardener of the treaties we will not hesitate to take action where necessary to ensure compatibility with the treaties. Indeed the commission will use all the means at its disposal be it under CVN or otherwise the commission urges Romania to put the reform process back on track immediately. This means going forwards not backwards and obtaining from any and abstaining from any steps which reversed the progress accomplished over the past year.

I honestly think there is still an opportunity to turn things around the laws are not yet promulgated and therefore it is not yet too late for the Romanian institutions to act to turn the situation around. As always we stand ready to help but the responsibility and the power to deliver change lies firmly with the Romanian institutions and I call again on them to take the right steps. Now thank you very much.