The European Commission might take legal action against Romania over rule of law
The European Commission could start legal proceedings against Romania in defense of the rule of law, if changes to the Penal Code are enacted, the spokesman of the EU Executive has said on Monday, confirming that the Commission’s First Vice President, Frans Timmermans, has sent a letter in this regard to top Romanian officials: the president, the prime-minister and speakers of the two parliament chambers.
Margaritis Schinas: The main concerns relate to developments interfering with judicial independence and the effective fight against corruption, including the protection of financial interests of the EU and particularly to the recently adopted amendments to the criminal code that create a de facto impunity for crime. These changes might affect the rule of law. In case that necessary improvements are not accomplished soon, or if further negative measures are adopted, like the enactment of most recent amendment to the penal codes, the Commission will trigger without delay the framework for the rule of law and will suspend the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism
Germany was never against Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, its ambassador to Bucharest says
The German Ambassador to Romania, Cord Meier-Klodt, who was on a visit to the Romanian city of Galati on Monday, has said that his country was never against Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, but such a decision requires political consensus.
Cord Meier-Klodt: I came up with a solution, for instance a step by step accession to Schengen. Firstly, only airports could be part of the Schengen area. I believe that consensus of all parties is necessary for such a project. Technical preparation are one step, but, in the end, it is a political decision and part of my work, my efforts, is to talk to officials and show them that they too could do something to help reach such a compromise.
The Romanian National Liberal Party has called for the invalidation of Liviu Dragnea’s mandate as parliament speaker
The opposition national Liberal Party has asked representatives of the Constitutional Court to invalidate the mandate of the Chamber of Deputies’ Speaker, Liviu Dragnea. The leader of Liberal deputies, Raluca Turcan, has said that the statute of this institution had been breached, by accepting in parliament a person convicted of crimes related to the electoral process. Raluca Turcan recalled that the Social Democrat leader was sentenced to two years of suspended jail term, in the „Referendum” case, in 2016.
Mădălina Brotăcel, RADOR
