REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL INTERIM REPORT On Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism
Date: 2012-02-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Romania, award of contract, civil servant, corruption, judicial reform, parliamentary immunity

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 8.2.2012  
COM(2012) 56 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

INTERIM REPORT 

On Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

INTERIM REPORT 

On Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

This report is an interim report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism 
("CVM")1  providing  a  technical  update  on  significant  developments  during  the  last 
six months in Romania since the Commission's last report in July 2011. The update 
focuses  on  measures  that  have  been  completed  or  will  be  completed  shortly,  while 
also identifying actions which remain to be taken. 

The recommendations of the last progress report adopted by the Commission on 20 
July 2011 are the point of reference for the assessment of progress achieved against 
the benchmarks and the identification of the remaining challenges. In summer 2012, 
the Commission will provide an overall assessment of progress in Romania under the 
CVM since accession. 

2. 

JUDICIAL  REFORM  AND  THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  CORRUPTION:  SUMMARY  OF 
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS 

to 

response 

the  Commission's 

Romania's 
recommendations  shows  several 
developments. The new civil code entered smoothly into force in October 2011 and 
the civil procedure code is foreseen to follow in June 2012. The acceleration of high-
level  corruption  trials  by  the  High  Court  of  Cassation  and  Justice  has  helped  to 
respond to the Commission's recommendation concerning the risk of some high level 
corruption  cases  reaching  statute-barred  periods.  This  could  have  a  longer-term 
impact in terms  of  streamlining the judicial process and securing  timely final court 
decisions.  Draft  legislation  on  extended  confiscation  has  made  progress  in 
Parliament.  The  National  Anticorruption  Directorate  (DNA)  and  the  National 
Integrity Agency (ANI) have continued to carry forward a series of important cases, 
including with regard to a significant number of senior politicians and officials. The 
new laws on the reform of appointments to the High Court of Cassation and Justice 
and on the disciplinary responsibility of magistrates set out frameworks which aim at 
more  clarity  and  rigour.  A  comprehensive  National  Anti-Corruption  Strategy  has 
been drafted. 

Developments in Romania over recent months also point to a number of areas where 
the  Commission's  recommendations. 
further  action 

is  needed 

line  with 

in 

1 

Commission  Decision  2006/928/EC  of  13  December  2006  establishing  a  mechanism  for  cooperation 
and verification of progress in Romania to address specific benchmarks in the areas of judicial reform 
and the fight against corruption (OJ L 354, 14.12.2006, p. 56). 

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Preparations  to  implement  the  criminal  code  and  criminal  procedure  code  should 
continue in areas like targeted recruitment and rebalancing resources between courts, 
and  should  be  put  in  the  framework  of  a  clear  and  comprehensive  implementation 
plan. The ability of the leadership of the judiciary to adequately respond to problems 
concerning  integrity  and  accountability  within  the  judiciary  remains  an  issue  of 
public  concern.  Decisions  in  key  court  cases  will  need  to  further  contribute  to 
effectively dissuading high-level corruption. The welcome given to the draft National 
Anti-Corruption  Strategy  should  be  backed  up  by  a  clear  endorsement  by  all 
institutions, to maximise the leverage of this strategy. Further efforts  are needed to 
secure more convincing results in the recovery of the proceeds of crime. 

Ongoing  efforts  are  therefore  needed  during  the  coming  months  in  order  to 
demonstrate  convincing  results  in  view  of  the  Commission's  overall  assessment  of 
progress  achieved  by  Romania  under  the  CVM  since  its  accession  to  the  EU  in 
summer 2012. The Commission will continue to support Romania in this endeavour. 

3. 

UPDATE ON THE STATE OF PLAY 

Reform of the Judiciary 

In  order  to  pursue  judicial  reform,  the  Commission  notably  recommended  to 
Romania  to  adopt  an  implementation  plan  for  the  Civil  Procedure  Code,  the 
Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, to provide sufficient resources for 
the  necessary  re-organisation  of  the  judiciary,  improve  training  and  recruitment, 
strengthen  the  capacity  of  the  National  Institute  of  the  Magistracy  and  create  a 
framework of cooperation with the judiciary and civil society to monitor progress in 
judicial reform. 

The new civil code entered smoothly into force on 1 October and was accompanied 
by  various  training  and  awareness-raising  initiatives.  On  the  basis  of  the  impact 
studies  finalised  in  November  2011,  the  entry  date  of  the  civil  procedure  code  has 
recently been announced for June 2012. The remaining codes will enter into force in 
March  2013,  giving  time  to  recruit  large  numbers  of  magistrates  and  clerks  and  to 
restructure  the  court  system.  Steps  have  been  taken  in  recent  months  on  the 
implementing  legislation  for  the  civil  procedure  code,  the  criminal  code  and  the 
criminal  procedure  code,  and  the  impact  studies  for  all  codes  were  finalised  in 
November.  The  recent  announcements  on  implementation  should  now  be  followed 
up  by  adoption  of  the  implementing  legislation  and  in  the  finalisation  of  a 
comprehensive  implementation  plan,  involving  all  stakeholders  in  Parliament, 
Government,  the  judiciary  and  civil  society,  including  the  necessary  preparatory 
measures,  such  as  prioritising  recruitments,  reorganisation  of  the  court  system,  and 
training. 

Since  the  Commission's  last  report,  Romania  has  launched  a  project  to  develop 
optimal workload standards for courts, and first results are expected in the summer of 
this  year.  A  functional  review  of  the  judicial  system  will  be  launched  shortly  and 
finalised by the end of 2012. Some vacancies have been reallocated by the Superior 
Council  of  the  Magistracy;  however  important  imbalances  persist  in  the  workload 
between different courts and prosecution offices.  

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A proposal to harmonise entry exams and to strengthen the initial training given to 
magistrates  is  awaiting  approval  by  the  Superior  Council  of  the  Magistracy. 
Proposals to allocate additional positions to the National Institute of the Magistracy 
and to improve training facilities have also been made. Financing has been provided 
for 15 additional trainers at the Institute.  

In order to improve the accountability of the judicial system, the Commission notably 
recommended to Romania to demonstrate a track record of transparent and objective 
management decisions, to continue the reform of the judicial inspection and achieve 
the electronic publication of all jurisprudence and the timely issuing of motivations 
by court. 

increases  sanctions,  and  strengthens 

Since  the  Commission's  last  report,  Romania  adopted  legislation  seeking  to 
strengthen  the  disciplinary  responsibility  of  the  judiciary.  This  law  amends  the 
scheme  of  disciplinary  offences, 
the 
independence  of  the  Judicial  Inspection.  It  also  eliminates  the  possibility  of 
magistrates  escaping  disciplinary  sanctions  through  retirement  whilst  a  disciplinary 
process is ongoing. In November the Superior Council of the Magistracy adopted a 
strategy  and  action  plan  to  improve  integrity  within  the  judiciary.  However,  some 
recent  criminal  investigations  involving  senior  magistrates  raised  public  concern 
regarding the Council's resolve and ability to safeguard  integrity and accountability 
within  the  judiciary.  In  one  important  case  of  alleged  high-level  corruption,  the 
judicial  authorities  did  not  remove  the  judge  in  question  from  a  management 
initiated,  but  were 
in 
position.  Disciplinary 
subsequently  suspended  on  the  grounds  of  a  pending  criminal  investigation.  This 
case  revealed  clear  shortcomings  in  the  ability  of  the  judicial  leadership  to  take 
action  when  faced  with  serious  risks  to  the  reputation  of  the  judiciary.  There  have 
been  few  significant  developments  to  address  the  Commission's  recommendations 
concerning the effectiveness of the Judicial Inspection. 

this  case  were 

investigations 

Appointments to positions in the High Court of Cassation and Justice in August were 
criticised  for  a  lack  of  transparency  and  objectivity.  However,  Romania  adopted  a 
new  law  in  December  which  had  been  re-introduced  by  the  government  to  reform 
appointments  to  the  High  Court  of  Cassation  and  Justice.  The  law  introduces 
substantial  improvements  to  appointment  procedures  and  can  make  an  important 
contribution to the reform of the High Court. The impact of this law will depend on 
the commitment of the competent institutions to ensure its implementation. It should 
be followed by a swift filling of vacancies, in particular within the criminal section, 
through a transparent and merit-based recruitment process. A further reorganisation 
of  the  High  Court  would  help  to  strengthen  the  Court's  capacity  to  deal  effectively 
with  the  procedure  of  preliminary  ruling,  which  will  be  introduced  as  a  key 
instrument for legal unification by the new codes.  

There  is  still  no  comprehensive,  up-to-date  online  publication  of  motivated  court 
decisions.  The  release  of  motivations  for  court  decisions  within  the  legal  deadlines 
need  to  be  generally  enforced,  especially  as  there  is  a  risk  that  in  some  high-level 
corruption  cases,  delayed  motivations  could  trigger  the  statute-barred  period  by 
delaying any appeals.  

Fight against Corruption 

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In  order  to  improve  the  effectiveness  of  judicial  action  regarding  high-level 
corruption,  the  Commission  notably  recommended  to  Romania  to  improve  case 
management and judicial practice in the trial of high-level corruption cases and to 
improve  the  dissuasiveness  and  consistency  of  court  sanctions  in  this  area.  The 
Commission  also  recommended  continuing  the  reform  of  the  High  Court  of 
Cassation  and  Justice,  to  demonstrate  better  results  regarding  fraud  in  public 
procurement and to adopt procedural rules for the lifting of Parliamentary immunity. 

Since the Commission's last report, the High Court of Cassation and Justice has taken 
a number of managerial and administrative measures to improve the celerity of high-
level  corruption  trials,  notably  those  which  risked  reaching  statute-barred  periods. 
These  measures  included  the  prioritisation  of  cases  closer  to  statute-barred  periods 
and  the  temporary  use  of  spare  court  rooms  in  other  courts,  to  allow  for  more 
frequent  hearings.  An  additional  building  was  allocated  to  the  High  Court  in 
November 2011. These measures led to the acceleration of a number of cases which 
were pending at the High Court and also resulted in an increased number of verdicts. 
During 2011, 15 cases were solved in first instance at the level of the Penal Chamber 
of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, compared to two cases in 2010. The High 
Court issued final decisions in nine high-level corruption cases. 

The High Court of Cassation and Justice published sentencing guidelines regarding 
certain corruption offences on the basis of an analysis of final court decisions. These 
guidelines  are  considered  useful  by  practitioners  and  could  be  expanded,  further 
disseminated and integrated into training curricula, with their application monitored. 
Analysis  of  court  sentences  for  high-level  corruption  indicate  that  verdicts  often 
remain close to the legal minimum, and over 60% of sentences are suspended.  

The  DNA  continued  to  act  as  an  effective  prosecution  service  in  high  level 
corruption  cases.  2011  saw  increases  in  the  number  of  indictments,  court  decisions 
and  convictions. With the acceleration of cases in the High Court of Cassation and 
Justice,  this  was  shown  most  notably  in  final  court  decisions:  158  final  court 
decisions  in  DNA  cases  were  concluded  in  2011,  compared  to  85  in  2010.This 
activity  continued to  include  significant numbers of  senior politicians  and officials. 
The  Anti-Corruption  General  Directorate  of  the  Ministry  of  Administration  and 
Interior has taken steps to consolidate its work to tackle corruption. 

Since last July, there have been 5 convictions in first instance against 13 defendants 
in  public  procurement  cases.  Regarding  offences  committed  against  the  financial 
interests of the European Union, there have been 5 final convictions and 4 non final 
convictions  since  July.  The  importance  of  public  procurement  in  the  Romanian 
economy  suggests  that  a  special  effort  is  needed  to  ensure  that  cases  are  taken 
forward efficiently and expeditiously. Improving financial and accountancy expertise 
among  magistrates  and  increasing  the  availability  of  qualified  external  experts 
remain necessary to ensure the efficiency of court proceedings. A proactive approach 
to developing consistent jurisprudence in public procurement trials would also help 
to ensure that cases can be brought successfully to court. 

To  address  weaknesses  in  judicial  practice  in  high-level  corruption  trials,  several 
seminars,  meetings  and  training  sessions  have  been  organised  by  the  National 
Institute  of  Magistracy  and  the  High  Court,  supported  by  DNA.  These  steps  could 
in  a 
usefully  be  applied 

in  a  more  systematic  manner  and  consolidated 

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comprehensive  action  plan  in  order  to  achieve  general  improvements  to  judicial 
practice  of  high  level  corruption  trials.  Particular  attention  could  be  given  to 
enhancing the standards for authorisation and funding of expert evidence in court and 
to the justifications used to postpone court hearings.  

Romania  has  prepared  a  comparative  analysis  of  practice  in  other  Member  States 
regarding the procedure for lifting immunity of Members of Parliament and included 
the  issue  in  the  draft  new  National  Anti-Corruption  Strategy.  As  the  competent 
authority to adopt new rules, the Parliament now needs to take this issue forward.  

In order to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of integrity policies, the 
Commission recommended to Romania to demonstrate a track-record of sanctions in 
follow-up to decisions of the National Integrity Agency (ANI), to improve and unify 
practice  of  Wealth  Investigation  Commissions  and  to  improve  the  investigative 
capacity of ANI and its cooperation with other institutions. 

Since the Commission's last report, the National Integrity Agency (ANI) has received 
a significant increase in its budget and attracted substantial EU funds to improve its 
information  system  and  procedures.  ANI  concluded  a  number  of  cooperation 
agreements with other institutions and carried out a first targeted risk assessment and 
large-scale checks regarding conflict of interest in public procurement on local and 
regional level. 

The track record of ANI has developed further in recent months. Under its new legal 
basis,  since  2010  ANI  has  identified  18  cases  amounting  to  a  total  of  EUR  5.7 
million of potential unexplained assets, 23 cases of administrative conflict of interest 
and 118 cases of incompatibilities. The judicial and administrative follow-up to these 
cases has been mixed. In two first cases which were raised by ANI under its old law, 
final  decisions  by  the  High  Court  confirmed the  existence  of  unjustified  assets  and 
ordered their confiscation. As a result of findings of incompatibility issued under the 
new  law,  one  holder  of  public  office  was  dismissed,  sanctions  were  applied  in  two 
other cases and six other holders of public office resigned.  

A  host  of  other  cases,  in  particular  cases  related  to  conflict  of  interest,  are  still 
pending  before  judicial  authorities.  The  process  has  been  complicated  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Wealth  Investigation  Commissions, created  in  August 2010 as 
an  intermediary  between  ANI  and  the  courts.  Common  guidelines  or  rules  of 
procedure aimed to improving the efficiency of proceedings and unifying practice are 
currently being  developed. A number of  training seminars have been carried out in 
recent months to encourage best practice. A test case will still need to be decided by 
courts  in  order  to  establish  whether  or  not  ANI  has  the  power  to  launch  an  appeal 
against the dismissal ordinances issued by the Commissions.  

The  potential  dissuasive  effect  of  ANI  cases  is  hindered  by  the  delays  and  lack  of 
consistency  in  the  judicial  and  administrative  follow-up  to  ANI  cases.  Attempts  at 
reopening  ANI's  legal  and  institutional  independence  have  also  diverted  attention 
from consolidating ANI's track record. The forthcoming appointment of a new ANI 
President  provides  an  opportunity  to  underline  ANI's  institutional  stability  and 
integrity.  

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In  order  to  reach  better  results  in  the  fight  against  corruption,  the  Commission 
recommended  to  Romania  to  improve  coordination  at  the  highest  level,  develop  a 
new  multi-annual  anti-corruption  strategy  and  create  a  monitoring  group  for  this 
purpose.  The  Commission  also  recommended  demonstrating  convincing  results  in 
the  recovery  of  proceeds  of  crime  and  money  laundering,  adopting  a  new  law  on 
extended  confiscation,  developing  rules  for  the  prevention  of  conflict  of  interest  in 
the  management  of  public  funds  and  strengthening  procedures  and  capacity  of 
competent authorities in the area of public procurement. 

Since  the  Commission's  last  report,  Romania  has  developed  a  new  draft  anti-
corruption  strategy  which  has  been  well  received  by  experts  and  practitioners.  The 
effective  implementation  and  the  impact  of  the  strategy  will  depend  on  broad 
political support and endorsement. The adoption of the strategy by Parliament would 
be  an  important  positive  signal.  A  visible  monitoring  mechanism  could  further 
enhance its impact, as well as a requirement for all parts of government to implement 
the strategy in their own areas, and report on results. Since the summer, financing has 
also been obtained from EU funds for a number of anti-corruption projects, including 
in 
the  Ministries  of  Education,  Health  and  Administration  and  Interior. 
Implementation has started and results are now awaited. In terms of dissuasiveness, 
the  exclusion  of  a  politician  from  his  party  upon  the  launch  of  investigations  for 
high-level  corruption  in  November  has  been  recognised  as  a  strong  example  of 
effective  public  accountability.  However,  six  other  members  of  Parliament  with 
convictions for corruption remain as sitting members of Parliament. 

If the draft law on extended confiscation currently under discussion in Parliament is 
adopted as proposed, it would add significantly to the dissuasiveness of penalties. It 
would need to be accompanied by measures to ensure that court sentences imposing 
financial  penalties  are  effectively  collected.  Convincing  results  have  still  to  be 
demonstrated  in  the  recovery  of  the  proceeds  of  crime.  Steps  taken  by  the  General 
Prosecutor  led  to  a  significant  increase  in  the  amount  of  frozen  assets  in  2011.  A 
guidance note has been disseminated to prosecution offices to encourage the pursuit 
of money laundering as a stand-alone offence within existing legislation.  

In  December,  Romania  adopted  a  code  of  conduct  concerning  incompatibility  and 
conflict of interest in the management of EU funds. A working group has been tasked 
to  develop  monitoring  mechanisms  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  new  code  of 
conduct. 

Since  the  Commission's  last  report,  legal  amendments  and  administrative  measures 
were taken to strengthen the protection against irregularities and conflict of interest 
in the management of public funds. Measures include developing standardised tender 
documentation  and  strengthening  the  capacity  of  the  National  Authority  for 
Regulating  and  Monitoring  Public  Procurement  (ANRMAP)  to  carry  out  ex-ante 
verification.  The  ANRMAP  concluded  cooperation  agreements  with  other 
institutions. Further steps are now under discussion which could help to enhance the 
effective application of the public procurement rules.  

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