Commission critical of fight against corruption

Report says Romania and Bulgaria are not doing enough to bring their judicial systems up to standard.

Romania and Bulgaria are failing to bring their judicial systems up to EU standards and are not fighting corruption effectively, according to the European Commission.

“Romania has not been able to keep the momentum of reform”, said the latest of the six-monthly reports the Commission produces on the two most recent member states. Since last summer’s report, there have been few improvements in the judicial system and there is still no consistent publication of court documents and decisions, the Commission concluded. And a reduction in net levels of staffing has increased the pressure upon the judiciary. 

Meanwhile, lengthy delays in high-level corruption charges continue, along with leniency of penalties, despite improved work by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the National Integrity Agency.

Delays in corruption cases were also an issue for Bulgaria, where no convictions for high-level cases have occurred since mid-2009. Numerous planned improvements and structural adjustments have had little effect on the fight against corruption and organised crime, as a further street assassination in January would seem to illustrate, the Commission remarked.

Similarly, the impact of planned improvements and real changes in the judiciary – including regular court inspections – are undermined by allegations of serious corruption in the appointment of senior judges.

This continuous monitoring of the performance of  Romania and Bulgaria since they  joined the EU in 2007 – known as the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism – is one of the conditions the EU imposed to support the full assimilation of new member states. 

The Commission urged both states to make the adoption of reform a national priority and continue their endeavour to bring about change. The next report will be released this summer.

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