Lifting the CVM: an increasingly distant hope for Romania
A report by the Committee on European Affairs in the French Senate finds it too soon to lift the CVM on Romania
Roxana Vasile, 06.04.2021, 13:50
In a matter of weeks, the triumphalism of the current right-of-centre coalition government in Romania has been replaced by moderate pessimism at best.
Just a month ago, the Liberal PM Florin Cîțu was boasting that, many years after it had been created, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism monitoring the Romanian judiciary could become history. The European Commission, Cîțu said at the time, supports its lifting towards the end of the year.
Accusing his political opponents, the Social Democrats, of sideslips that had required keeping this safeguard measure in place, the new Cabinet felt their coming to power was a guarantee that things were moving in the right direction.
“After 13 years in which Romania was subject to exceptional monitoring by the European Commission, with major steps back in 2018 and 2019, I trust our stepped up efforts in the coming period will lead to a normal and predictable functioning of the rule of law in Romania, deputy PM Dan Barna was saying in his turn, adding that the removal of the CVM was one of the key goals of the new government.
A major blow came on the first day of this week from France: a report by the Committee on European Affairs of the French Senate regarding the rule of law in the EU indicates that lifting the CVM is premature as long as the objectives set by it have not been met.
In Romanias case, these objectives include guaranteeing a more transparent and efficient judicial process, especially by strengthening and empowering the Higher Council of Magistrates; setting up an Integrity Agency able to make binding decisions leading to penalties; carrying on professional and impartial investigations into high-level corruption accusations, and additional measures to fight corruption, particularly in local administration.
The French Senates committee also mentions that in its latest CVM report, the European Commission was warning that the reforms in Romania ground to a halt in 2017 and that the first months of 2019 were worrying in this respect. Subsequently, the Commission welcomed Bucharests willingness to revise its approach, but, the report also reads, progress cannot be achieved through political commitments alone.
Finally, Paris believes the EU should be a role model in promoting and observing the rule of law, which it would like included among the priorities of the French presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)
