EurActiv Logo
EU news & policy debates
- across languages -
Click here for EU news »
EurActiv.com Network

BROWSE ALL SECTIONS

Romania restores powers of anti-graft agency

[fr] [de]
-A +A
Published 17 August 2010 - Updated 19 August 2010
Tags
corruption Romania
Printer-friendly versionSend by email

Following EU pressure, Romania's lower chamber of parliament today (17 August) passed a law on the organisation and functioning of an anti-graft agency, which was recently stripped of its powers by the country's constitutional court.

The Chamber of Deputies passed by 204 votes to two (amid two abstentions) a law defining the organisation and functioning of the National Integrity Agency (ANI) at today's extraordinary session, Romanian agency Agerpres reported. The Chamber of Deputies has 346 members.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) boycotted the poll, with the party's MPs leaving the plenary before the vote started. PSD controls 114 votes in the lower chamber of parliament.

Tudor Chiuariu and Mihaita Calimente of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) were the only MPs to vote against the ANI law. Daniel Oajdea of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and independent Tudor Ciuhodaru abstained.

The adopted text gives the ANI the power to verify the personal fortunes of dignitaries after their terms in office have run out. Leading political figures are also obliged to publish their declarations of wealth, and a false declaration is considered a criminal offence.

Critics of the draft ANI law like PSD lawmaker Marian Săniuţă complain that it is old, incomplete and unconstitutional. Quoted by the Romanian press, Săniuţă also reportedly told parliament that those in power wanted to use the ANI to spark a witch-hunt against opposition representatives.

Daniel Buda from the ruling PDL, chair of the parliament's legal commission, rebuked the criticism and said that the Parliament had accomplished its task of bringing the legislation on the ANI in conformity with the country's constitution.

Buda added that PSD lawmakers had not tabled a single amendment to the text, which was adopted unanimously, the Romanian press reported.

Positions: 

Asked by EurActiv to comment on today's vote on the draft law regarding the National Integrity Agency in the lower chamber of the Romanian parliament, European Commission spokesperson Amelia Torres said that it was encouraging that Bucharest was reacting to the concerns expressed in the EU executive's last monitoring report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

The Commission will look into the legislation once it is adopted, she added.

PSD Senator Dan Şova, a member of the parliament's upper chamber, told EurActiv that his party had not tabled amendments before the vote in the lower chamber and would probably not do so in the upper chamber either, because the law is unconstitutional.

"Obviously, the law is unconstitutional in many respects. In this situation, we will not be part of such lawmaking. We remain with the impression that the PDL simply wants an unconstitutional law," he said.

Şova said he expected the upper chamber to pass the law next Monday, after which the Constitutional Court would again declare the law unconstitutional. He was categorical in saying that it would not be the PSD that challenges the constitutionality of the law, as in the past the law had been challenged by others.

Asked by EurActiv if he thought the European Commission had put too much pressure on the Romanian government, Sova said his personal view was that the EU executive was acting in good faith, but had little understanding of the Romanian constitutional requirements.

Next steps: 
  • 23 August: Upper chamber (Senate) to pass the law.
External Links
corruption 01
Background: 

In April, Romania's Constitutional Court declared as anti-constitutional the main prerogatives of the National Integrity Agency (ANI), a body established on Brussels' recommendation (EurActiv 19/04/10).

Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, are still being monitored by the European Commission due to their poorly functioning judicial systems and inability to curb corruption.

According to the Constitutional Court, the ANI no longer has the right to seize the prosecution on signs or suspicion of corruption and cannot request the courts to seize properties. Moreover, the ANI can no longer investigate senators, members of parliament or ministers' income statements and declarations of interest.

The consequences of the court's decision will have an impact on the country's access to European funds and Romania's plans to accede to the Schengen space, ANI President Catalin Macovei and General Secretary Horia Georgescu warned.

But leading politicians from the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) issued statements which appear to favour the position of the Constitutional Court against the ANI. They claim that the ANI was put in place under pressure from Brussels and was constructed outside the country's constitutional framework.

This year's European Commission monitoring report, published last July, was more critical of Romania than previous editions. It reprimands the country for having breached its EU accession commitments, after its constitutional court declared significant parts of legislation on the ANI unconstitutional (EurActiv 20/07/10).

More on this topic

News

Court decision could 'negatively affect' Romania's EU position
More in this section

Advertising