Six partner countries of Romania, namely Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the US – are requesting Romania’s Government not to “reverse” its fight against corruption, a joint press release sent to Agerpres by the diplomatic missions reveals.
“We, Romania’s international partners and allies, express our profound concern at the actions of the Romanian Government on the night of January 31, 2017, which have undermined Romania’s progress on rule of law and the fight against corruption over the past ten years,” reads the release, which was written in English.
Moreover, according to the quoted document, the mentioned actions risk “damaging” Romania’s partnerships.
“This act, in contravention to the collective wisdom of the entire judicial and rule of law community, credible elements of civil society, and the demonstrated concerns of Romanian citizens over the past two weeks, can only undermine Romania’s standing in the international community and risks damaging partnerships that are based on common values, inherent in the guiding principles of the EU and NATO,” the signatories of the letter stated.
“We hope the Government of Romania will reverse this unhelpful course,” reveals the document.
The EU member states that signed this statement draw attention on the recent Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) report of the European Commission.
“This report sets out the conditions to avoid a reassessment of the progress made in the fight against corruption. It identified a limited number of key recommendations the fulfillment of which would lead to the provisional closing of individual benchmarks and to the conclusion of the CVM process,” the letter points out.
“The EU Member States which have endorsed this statement hope that Romania will act in a way allowing the EU Council to work in this direction,” the quoted source added.
PM Grindeanu, in letter to Juncker and Timmermans: I reiterate commitment on continuing fight against corruption
Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu reiterates “the firm commitment of all institutions and decision-making factors in Romania on the continuation of the fight against corruption” in a letter sent on Wednesday to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice President Frans-Timmermans.
