Thursday

23rd Mar 2023

Romanian MPs decriminalise political corruption

The Romanian parliament on Tuesday (10 December) exempted top politicians and lawyers from corruption crimes, in a move which flies in the face of agreements with the EU.

The snap amendments, voted without parliamentary debate, say that the country's President, senators, members of the lower chamber, as well as lawyers, are no longer to be considered "public officials."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The Romanian parliament has 28 members on trial for corruption who may walk free (Photo: Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

This in turn means they can no longer be held to account for abuse of office, bribery, conflicts of interest and other corruption crimes.

Those who have been convicted may walk free if the law comes into force.

With many ministers also being parliamentarians and lawyers, the new immunity extends to government members.

Meanwhile, mayors and other local officials would no longer be held liable for conflicts of interest.

Romanian President Traian Basescu, who still has to sign the law for it to be enacted, on Tuesday promised to send it back to the parliament.

But he can only do so once and the parliament is not obliged to take his objections into account.

"I thank them for thinking about me, but I don't need it," Basescu quipped in reference to the exemption, which also applies to his office.

"This change means 10 years of regress," he added in a press conference in Bucharest.

According to the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutor's office (DNA), 28 members of the Romanian parliament have been convicted or are currently on trial for corruption.

In addition, over 100 mayors and vice-mayors are on trial for awarding public contracts to family and friends or for similar abuses.

"This legislative change puts Romanian law in flagrant contradiction with the international agreements Romania has ratified in 2002 and 2004, respectively: the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of the Council of Europe and the United Nations' Convention on Corruption," the anti-corruption office said in a press statement.

Both international conventions require states to give a comprehensive definition of public officials and to explicitly refer to corruption of lawmakers.

The new exemptions also mean that Romania will "no longer meet the criteria of international judicial cooperation and will be unable to execute requests for judicial assistance when it comes to these kind of persons," the DNA added.

The country's ethics body for judges and prosecutors (CSM) - which had not been consulted on the legislative changes - has also criticised the bill.

It said the proposed law would "basically exonerate" the President and lawmakers from any responsibility for crimes.

It is not the first time Romanian lawmakers have tweaked laws in a bid to protect themselves from investigation.

In summer last year, changes aimed at limiting the powers of the Constitutional Court were politically motivated as the state institutions got caught up in a political war between the centre-right President and the centre-left prime minister.

It ended with a failed referendum to impeach the President.

Romania, as well as its southern neighbour Bulgaria, is still under a special monitoring mechanism by the European Commission, which assesses its progress in terms of respect for the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime.

Romanian government hit by corruption cases

Political infighting has flared up once again in Romania - a development likely to set alarm bells ringing in Brussels over the independence of the country's justice system.

EU still unhappy with Romania's rule of law

Romanian ministers accused of corruption should resign and MPs should stop shielding themselves from anti-graft investigations, the EU commission plans to say.

Exclusive

Sweden waters down EU press-freedom law

Press-freedom groups from Paris to New York have voiced dismay at Sweden's proposal to weaken a landmark EU law against corporate and political bullies.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. Sweden worried by EU visa-free deal with Venezuela
  2. Spain denies any responsibility in Melilla migrant deaths
  3. How much can we trust Russian opinion polls on the war?
  4. Banning PFAS 'forever chemicals' may take forever in Brussels
  5. EU Parliament joins court case against Hungary's anti-LGBTI law
  6. Three French MEPs to stay on election-observation blacklist
  7. Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown
  8. When geopolitics trump human rights, we are all losers

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us