Radio România Internațional

Tag: corruption perception index

  • January 30, 2024 UPDATE

    January 30, 2024 UPDATE

    Tribute. Romanias president, Klaus Iohannis, will be in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday for a ceremony paying tribute to Jaques Delors (1925-2023), former European Commission president over 1985-1995, and for a special meeting of the European Council. The main topic on Thursdays agenda is securing consensus at community level over the main elements in the package set to reform the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. The most anticipated decisions regard support for Ukraine at all levels, including military assistance via the European Peace Facility, in line with Ukraines specific needs. President Iohannis will firmly argue in favor of Ukraine remaining a top priority on the EU agenda.



    IMF. A special IMF delegation led by Jan Kees Martijn is in Bucharest to conduct a new assessment of the Romanian economy. The mission takes places four months after the previous visit and has an advisory role. The IMF estimates a 2.3% economic growth for Romania this year and a budget deficit of 6% of the GDP. IMF experts have urged Bucharest to implement additional reforms, particularly in the field of taxation. Last autumn, the IMF argued that Romanian authorities should first and foremost seek to eliminate tax exemptions and privileges, implement more efficient VAT-related measures, reform property taxes and encourage the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Romania has no standing agreement with the IMF at present.



    Trains. On Tuesday, the Romanian Transport Ministry signed a 640-mln-EUR contract for the purchase of 62 new electric short-track trains. The contract was signed with the Polish manufacturer PESA, the same company expected to deliver 20 long-track trains in early 2026, as per the contract signed in December 2023. The trains will enter circulation on the main electric rails or segments that underwent modernization works in western and northwestern Romania. Romania has purchased another 37 electric trains from Alstom, France. On Monday, the Transport Ministry signed a contract with the French company worth 150 mln EUR, for the purchase of 16 new electric engines, with money from the fund of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    Aurescu. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis signed, on Tuesday, the decree for the release of Bogdan Aurescu from the position of presidential advisor as of February 1. On November 9, 2023, the UN General Assembly and Security Council elected Bogdan Aurescu as a judge of the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a term beginning on February 6, 2024. The ICJ, based in The Hague, is the main judicial body of the UN, being the most prestigious and respected international court. The ICJ was established in 1945, based on the UN Charter. It is made up of 15 permanent judges, elected for a term of 9 years, with the possibility of being re-elected, who meet the conditions required for the exercise of the highest judicial positions in their countries of origin or who are jurists with a recognized competence in the field of international law. The 15 judges are chosen in such a way as to ensure the representation of the main forms of civilization and the main legal systems of the world.



    CPI. The 2023 Corruption Perception Index, published by Transparency International, shows that most countries have reported little to no progress in combating corruption in the public sector. The EU as a whole is either flat or showing signs of decline in this respect. The EU average in the last five years stood at 64. With a score of 46, Romania remains one of the underperformers at EU level, alongside Bulgaria (45) and Hungary (42), which reflects a dysfunctional rule of law. In several countries, including Romania, there are huge gaps between legal provisions and the way they are enforced, the document states. With respect to Romania, Transparency International recommends updating legislation in the field of public integrity, improving organizational and decision-making transparency, including through efficient public consultations and improving access to public information.



    Protest. Farmers protests continue across Europe against the current environmental policies, fuel excises and unfair competition. In France, farmers have blocked the main motorways in and out of Paris and other large cities, warning they wont leave unless their demands are met. President Emmanuel Macron is expected to present a number of proposals on the sidelines of the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday. Paris has accused some EU partners such as Spain or Italy of “unfair competition”, France Presse and EFE report. Also German farmers blocked on Monday access roads on several segments across the country, particularly in the Hamburg region, disgruntled with the governments decision to scrap diesel tax breaks. Farmers protests have also been reported in Greece and North Macedonia.



    Championship. A total of eight athletes will represent Romania at the World Aquatics Championships hosted by Doha over February 2-18, five in swimming events and three in diving. The big absentee is swimmer David Popovici, European champion in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. Constantin Popovici, the defending high diving world champion, and Cătălin Preda, world vice-champion, will lead the Romanian delegation. (MI)

  • Positive Report on Romanian Judiciary

    Positive Report on Romanian Judiciary

    On Wednesday Transparency International released its 2015 ranking of states according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. Its President, Jose Ugaz, said on this occasion, “Corruption can be beaten if we work together. To stamp out the abuse of power, bribery and shed light on secret deals, citizens must together tell their governments they have had enough. The 2015 Corruption Perception Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world. But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption.”



    With 46 points, compared to a EU average of 65.36 points, Romania ranks 58th out of 168 countries. Criticised for many years for insufficient efforts to curb corruption, Romania skipped 11 places towards the 100-point score assigned to a corruption-free country. The good results achieved by Bucharest in its fight against corruption did not go unnoticed in Brussels either. The European Commission report on the reforms in the Romanian judiciary is a positive one.



    Here is the Romanian Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna: “This is the third positive report in a row, so this is no big surprise. The activity of the institutions in charge with fighting corruption, particularly the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, but also the courts, the High Court of Cassation, and the National Integrity Agency, is highlighted as a positive element. Again, no surprises as regards the fields where progress is yet to be made. Worth noting in this respect is the Parliament of Romania, and its response to immunity lifting requests.”



    The Justice Minister believes that, even after a decade-long monitoring programme, there are still weaknesses that need addressing: “What we should be concerned with is that, ten years after the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was launched, there are still major aspects where we need to make progress. If we take the time to compare the institutions covered by this report as they were in 2006 to their current status, we can see that they have strengthened, they are a lot more efficient, more mature, and able to do what the law requires and entitles them to do. So in this respect the Mechanism has certainly proved its benefits.”



    Bucharest hopes that in the near future Romania and the European Commission will reach the conclusion that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is no longer necessary and should be given up.