Romania has satisfactorily implemented only five of the 18 recommendations outlined in the previous reports of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), according to GRECO's latest report on Romania consulted by Hotnews.ro.

The anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe shows that, on the whole, the authorities seem determined to reverse or abandon many of the controversial judicial reforms, but the level of compliance remains very low.

GRECO adopted the second interim report on Romania's fourth assessment in the plenary session on March 22-25. It concludes that "the level of compliance with the recommendations remains globally unsatisfactory." 

For now, the GRECO report is not public, requiring the opinion of the Romanian authorities.

According to the document consulted by Hotnews.ro, GRECO points out that a strengthening of the role of the magistrates' body (CSM) in the appointment/removal of prosecutors in/from the highest positions is still expected, while the justice minister's involvement in this process remains considerable to the detriment of judicial independence.

It also remains to be clarified whether objective and clear criteria for the promotion of judges and prosecutors have been established, taking into account their real qualifications and merits.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Shutterstock)