The European Commission on Tuesday recommended Romania in the Report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) to immediately suspend the implementation of the justice laws and subsequent emergency ordinances and revise them by fully taking into account the recommendations in the CVM as well as those formulated by the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe’s group of states against corruption (GRECO). Moreover, Brussels recommends Romania to immediately suspend all ongoing appointments and dismissal procedures for senior prosecutors. The European Commission also recommends the relaunch of the appointment process of the head of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) who must have experience proven in the field of the prosecution of corruption crimes and a clear mandate so that DNA continues to carry out professional, independent and non-biased investigations in the corruption cases. The CVM Report also recommends the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) to immediately appoint an interim leading team of the Judicial Inspection and appoint within three months, by contest, a new leadership of this institution. In addition, the EC urges the observance of the negative opinions of the CSM related to the appointment or removal from office of some prosecutors with leading positions until a new legislative framework comes into force, in accordance with the recommendation No.1 of January 2017. Likewise, the EC recommends the freezing of the entry into force of the amendments proposed to be brought to the Criminal Code and to the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as the relaunch of the revision process of the CP and CPP by fully considering the need to assure these codes’ compatibility with the EU law and the international instruments in the matter of combating corruption, alongside the recommendations formulated in the CVM and with the Venice Commission’s opinion. The EC notes in the CVM Report’s conclusions that the enforcement of the amended justice laws, the pressure at the independence of the judicial system, in general, and at the National Anti-corruption Directorate, in particular, as well as a series of other measures that undermine the efforts of combating corruption, have had as effect the annulment of the progresses or the questioning of their irreversible character.
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