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Romania: Benchmarks under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism are satisfactorily met
Today the European Commission adopted the latest report on steps taken by Romania to meet its commitments on judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).
The report takes stock of progress made on the outstanding recommendations and the fulfilment of the CVM benchmarks since the June 2021 CVM report. The report positively notes Romania's significant efforts to implement all these recommendations through new legislation, policies, and tools to strengthen the judiciary and combat corruption.
The Commission concludes that the progress made by Romania is sufficient to meet the CVM commitments made at the time of its accession to the EU and that all benchmarks can be satisfactorily closed. The assessment also takes account of the developing landscape for the rule of law in the EU, and in particular Romania's full engagement in the rule of law report cycle.
From now on, the Commission will no longer monitor or report on Romania under the CVM, but monitoring will continue within the annual rule of law cycle. Reporting will be consolidated in the Commission's annual Rule of Law Report, as for all Member States.
Progress on judicial reform and fight against corruption
Important reforms include the recently adopted Justice Laws and a new strategy for the development of the judiciary. The Commission also notes Romania's commitment to take utmost account of the opinion of the Venice Commission, on the Justice Laws and more generally, if further actions are necessary.
On the fight against corruption, state institutions are joining forces to implement a new national anti-corruption strategy, and a positive track record in the effectiveness of the investigation and sanctioning of high-level corruption has continued through 2021 and 2022. The Parliament has improved the procedure around lifting political immunities and Romanian institutions responsible for applying rules on integrity and conflicts of interest, and for managing and recovering criminal assets, have been working effectively.
Finally, Romania is making swift progress in revising its Criminal Codes, as well as consolidating its integrity framework. The completion of these important reforms are also milestones under Romania's Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Commission will continue to cooperate with Romania for their successful delivery, in line with EU law and international anti-corruption standards.
It is important that Romania continues to work consistently on translating the remaining commitments specified in the report into concrete legislation and on continued implementation, within the annual Rule of Law Report cycle and with the support of other parts of the EU rule of law toolbox.
The effective implementation of Romania's commitments and the continuation of the positive pace of reforms will ensure that progress made is sustainable and irreversible, allowing for the CVM to be successfully closed. Before reaching a final decision, the Commission will consider the observations of the Council, as well as of the European Parliament. The Commission will revert to this issue in the case of both Bulgaria and Romania in the coming months.
The annual rule of law report cycle will enable the Commission to monitor the implementation of many of the agreed reforms, such as the new regime following the dismantling of the Section for the Investigation of Offences in the Judiciary; the functioning of the Judicial Inspection; human resources in the judiciary; the implementation of court decisions by public administration; the impact of the upcoming revision of criminal legislation on the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, and the evolution of the integrity framework and its application, including by Parliament.
This will be part of the monitoring of the justice system and anti-corruption, two of the core pillars of the reports. Some of these issues have already been subject to recommendations in the last Rule of Law Report and, as with all Member States, will be part of the monitoring process undertaken by the Commission following the recommendations.
Romania's objectives under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and further opportunities for assistance under other relevant EU programmes, in particular the Technical Support Instrument, will also help ensure that ongoing reforms, such as on the Criminal Codes, bridge existing gaps in the legislation and strengthen the effectiveness of the fight against corruption.
Background
The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) was established at the accession of Romania to the European Union in 2007 as a transitional measure to facilitate Romania's continued efforts to reform its judiciary and step up the fight against corruption. It represents a joint commitment of Romania and the EU. In line with the decision setting up the mechanism and as underlined by the Council and the Court of Justice of the EU, the CVM ends when all the benchmarks applying to Romania are satisfactorily met.
Work under the CVM has been ongoing since 2007 to encourage and follow the reform process, based on the benchmarks. In January 2017, the Commission undertook a comprehensive assessment of progress over the ten years of the mechanism, which gave a clear picture of the significant progress made. The Commission set out twelve specific recommendations which, when met in an irreversible manner, would suffice to end the CVM process.
Since then, the Commission has carried out a further four assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations. Reports from 2017 to 2019 were characterised by a waning reform momentum, and eight additional recommendations had to be made. In the June 2021 report, the Commission was able to mark substantial progress across all the CVM benchmarks. The Commission noted a strong renewed impetus to reform and repair the backtracking of the 2017-2019 period, with many recommendations on the path to being fulfilled if progress remained steady. Since then, further positive steps have been taken, as detailed in the 2022 Report, which concluded that Romania has made sufficient progress in meeting its commitments at the time of its accession to the EU and that all benchmarks can be satisfactorily closed.
A CVM was also established at the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union in 2007 to monitor progress in the fields of judicial reform, corruption and organised crime. The October 2019 CVM report concluded that Bulgaria had fulfilled the remaining CVM recommendations satisfactorily, that Bulgaria has made sufficient progress in meeting its commitments at the time of its accession to the EU and that all benchmarks can be satisfactorily closed. Since then, Bulgaria is no longer monitored or reported upon under the CVM and it is monitored within the annual rule of law cycle, and more concretely, in the Commission's annual Rule of Law Report.
For More Information
CVM Report Romania: Questions & Answers
Report on steps taken by Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM)