Anti-Corruption

Concerned about the recent attempts of the Romanian government to decriminalise corruption and weaken the country’s conflicts of interest rules, a group of Greens/EFA Members of the European Parliament have written today to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, and to the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) led by Mr. Gianluca Esposito.

The letter calls upon GRECO to take concrete steps to examine the situation on the ground in Romania, given that GRECO is currently working on an assessment of Romania’s anti-corruption efforts. A face to face meeting with the MEPs concerned has also been requested.

The Members signing the letter highlighted the absence of serious and effective action by the European Commission to tackle corruption in the EU Member States, as made evident by the fact that the Commission proposed to not publish this year’s biannual EU anti-corruption report. (See our press reaction here)

These actions to address the situation in Romania are a follow-up to the debate already held by the European Parliament on 2nd February. You can watch that debate here.

What will the Greens/EFA group do next ?

1. We will continue to support the protestors and will closely follow developments in Romania so we can be sure that anti-corruption standards are not weakened once public attention shifts elsewhere.
2. We will call on Frans Timmermans, the first Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of transparency and the rule of law, to appear before the European Parliament’s LIBE committee and explain why he has decided not to publish the EU anti-corruption report.
3. We will push for a follow-up debate on the situation in Romania in the LIBE committee, which might lead to the establishment of a fact-finding mission.
4. We will hopefully meet with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption to assess the possibility for further action.