The European Commission has demanded Romania’s ruling coalition “suspend” efforts to change the nation’s justice system and criminal code “immediately”. The EU’s deputy chief executive said proposed changes to the judicial system and criminal code made by the ruling Social Democrats were wrong-headed and signalled a reversal of a decade of democratic and market reforms. On Tuesday, it laid down eight extra demands on Bucharest, including immediate suspension of changes to justice laws, the criminal code and senior prosecution personnel. The European Parliament also said it was “deeply concerned” the independence of the judiciary would undermine the fight against corruption and passed a non-binding resolution urging a greater fight against corruption, condemning police brutality during anti-graft protests and demanding an end to what it called the erosion of the rule of law.
He said: “I regret that Romania has not only stalled its reform process, but also reopened and backtracked on issues where progress was made over the past 10 years.
“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’s concerns stem from a series of legal and personnel changes made by the Social Democrats in the two years since they took power, which are seen as threats to judicial independence that could intensify a creep away from democratic values in some of the EU’s eastern member states.
Brussels, which is already considering sanctions against Poland and Hungary for weakening the rule of law, is concerned Romania is following suit.
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Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea, who has a suspended jail sentence and is on trial in a separate abuse of office case, has been pushing for further legislative changes, including a bill that would retroactively cancel wiretap evidence collected by the intelligence agency on behalf of prosecutors based on court warrants.
Mr Timmermans warned Bucharest’s ruling coalition it could end up in court if it does not immediately reverse the controversial justice reforms.
He added: “If the European Commission needs to be brutal in our assessment, we will be. If we need to use other instruments, we will.”
It comes at a time of simmering tensions in Romania after President Klaus Iohannis, a former leader of the National Liberal party, warned the Social Democrat-led government is not ready to take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on January 1.
He said there would be “no chance of a good government or proper involvement in European affairs” under the presidency.
Speaking about the EU’s recent intervention, the president added: ”The Commission’s report and the European Parliament’s resolution address the same things.
“They tell us Romania has gone back in time to before its 2007 EU accession.
“Dragnea is fighting against Romania, not for it.”
Transparency International ranks Romania as one of the EU’s most corrupt states and Brussels has been keeping its justice system under special monitoring since its 2007 entry.