Radio România Internațional

Tag: National Integrity Agency

  • Amended law for the National Integrity Agency

    Amended law for the National Integrity Agency

    The Romanian Senate, as decision-making body, has adopted the legislative proposal to amend the law regulating the activity of the National Integrity Agency. Thus, the bans imposed on MPs for having violated legal provisions on the conflict of interest between 2007 and 2013 have been eliminated. According to an earlier ruling issued by the Constitutional Court back then, before the Law on the Statute of Senators and Deputies came into force, “a conflict of interest” in the case of MPs was not regulated in terms of civil law. The opposition has vehemently criticised the draft law, saying a unitary approach is needed as regards conflicts and MPs integrity. Liberal senator Alina Gorghiu (in the opposition) has drawn attention to the fact that this law is actually clearing the past of some MPs, but it does not solve the future.



    Alina Gorghiu: “The future could be solved by means of a Code which should bring together the over 270 laws which include provisions related to incompatibility and conflict of interest. There is no prospect of a unitary regulation. We will further have problems with such cases of integrity. It is a legislative anomaly as no other before”.



    In turn, senator Vlad Alexandrescu of the opposition Save Romania Union has stated that “the MPs of the ruling power hurry to erase, out of a criminal reflex, any trace left at the crime scene”. “You hurry to erase the effects of incompatibility and conflict of interest in the case of hundreds of MPs, mayors, county council presidents and local counsellors”, Alexandrescu has also said. The response of the parliamentary majority came from Social-Democrat senator Claudiu Manda:


    “I agree with you that this is a legislative anomaly, especially since we know of situations when, in the 2007-2013 time-span, senators broke a law which took effect in 2013. This is what we are talking about. We are also talking about National Integrity Agency reports.”



    To pundits, the Senates decision is an important victory scored by the majority made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, in its assault on Justice, an unprecedented move in the last decade since Romania joined the EU. Also, according some observers, the adoption of this law can lead a massive “amputation” of the prerogatives of the National Integrity Agency, an institution which, alongside the National Anti-corruption Directorate, has constantly been praised in the CVM reports, an instrument by which the European Commission has been monitoring Romanias justice system since its EU accession.


    (translated by Diana Vijeu)




  • October 14, 2015

    October 14, 2015

    EUROPEAN COUNCIL – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will attend the European Council meeting of October 15-16, taking place in Brussels, focusing on migration and the EUs external borders. The president will meet with European Parliament president Martin Schulz and with Romanian MEPs. Klaus Iohannis said that, as regards migration, Romania wants to be part of the solution, but its approaches are based on solidarity and responsibility. Referring to the situation on the EU borders, Iohannis said Romania takes very seriously the mission to protect its borders and is acting as a Schengen member states. As regards the conflict in Syria, Klaus Iohannis said Russias military intervention has made matters worse, arguing for a dialogue between all stakeholders. Considering that Romanias Embassy in Damascus is still operational, our country might still help bring peace to the area. Referring to the Syrian conflict, the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Europe, the president had talks today in Bucharest with the president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Lebanon, Nabih Berri.



    SALARY LAW – The Government in Bucharest is today debating the new law on salaries in the public sector. If passed by Parliament and promulgated by the President, the law is due to come into force starting next year. Labour Minister Rovana Plumb said this project helps reduce the number of salary categories in the public sector. Under the new law, salaries will reflect the level of studies and will include motivational elements. We recall that public employees in the health care and education sectors have already been awarded a 25% salary increase. Also today, the Government is discussing the proposal of Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici regarding the Amnesty Law, under which natural persons are exempt from paying certain interest rates and penalty fees. Taxpayers with unpaid debts by September 30, 2015 might thus be exempt from paying delayed payment penalties if the pay their dues by March 31, 2016 and by June 30, 2016 the related interest rates.



    CORRUPTION – The National Integrity Agency has reported the existence of conflicts of interest at administrative level in the case of 32 former or current MPs. According to the Agency, 14 current deputies, 17 former deputies and a senator hired members of their families in their administrative offices, the total value of the contracts that breached the legal provisions on conflicts of interest reaching some 240,000 euros. Of these, three former deputies and a senator have been referred to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The remaining 28 MPs fall within the general statute of limitations for conflicts of interest of criminal nature, the Agency informs, adding that it will take proper action with a view to seeing that the documents issued, adopted or drafted while breaching legal provisions on conflicts of interest would be nullified.



    INVESTMENT – Foreign direct investment inflows by non-resident investors stood at 2.3 billion euros in the first eight months of the year, according to data made public by the National Bank of Romania on Wednesday. As compared to July, FDI grew by 215 million euros. In the first eight months of 2014, the total value of FDI in Romania stood at 1.424 billion euros, by nearly one billion less than this year.



    ROMANIA-IMF – Talks continue in Bucharest between Government representatives and the IMF delegation to Bucharest. Yesterday the talks held at the Ministry of Finance in Bucharest approached such topics as the budget planning for 2016, the situation of state-owned companies, the manner the Government plans to use European funds over the next period and the implementation of structural reforms. The IMF has called for a budget deficit of 1% in 2016, but Romania wants a more robust and sustainable economic growth, according to Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici. The draft budget for next year is the main topic on the agenda over the coming days, Teodorovici also said. The IMF technical mission to Bucharest will concluded on October 20.



    IRRIGATIONS – The Romanian state will spend 1.15 billion euros to repair its irrigation system. The Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case, adopted a draft law on Monday providing for the disbursement of the required funds. The Government says the modernization of the irrigation system is crucial for Romania, allowing for both the legal positioning of farmland and for attracting substantial European funds. The irrigation system will remain the states property and will be made available to farmers based on subscriptions. Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin says irrigation costs would be cut significantly. The first instalment worth 145 million euros will be disbursed in 2016, while the draft budget for next year will include a detailed presentation of the states planned investments.



    SYRIA – American and Russian military representatives are today holding a new round of talks on air safety in Syria, in an attempt to reach an agreement on air safety protocol while carrying out uncoordinated air strikes in this country, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. Talks follow in the context that each of the two countries is running air operations in Syria. While the US-led international coalition is targeting key positions of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, Russia is being accused of supporting Bashar al-Assads regime and of carrying out ‘indiscriminate airstrikes, targeting the presidents opposition as well. US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter has said that despite the political dispute over Syria, the United States and Russia must take action to ensure the safety of their pilots. Carter reminded that progress was reported in the previous rounds of talks, although leading to no clear agreement, Reuters reports.



    INVESTIGATION – Ukraine did not fully shut down air traffic over the Donbas region at the time of the crash of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, because no one ‘gave any thought of a possible threat to civil aviation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin announced at the United Nations. The explanation follows Tusdays publication of the final report into the circumstances of the crash of MH17 in July 2014 in the Donetsk region by the Dutch Safety Board. According to investigators, the flight was shot down by a BUK missile made in Russia, launched from a rebel-controlled region in Eastern Ukraine. Dutch officials have warned that Donbas air space should have been shut down, given that clashes between Government troops and pro-Russian separatists in the region. Although the report does not hold anyone accountable, its findings have been already dismissed by Russia, labelling the report as ‘biased. The tragic air crash at the time killed the 298 people on board, mostly Dutch citizens.

  • March 18, 2015

    March 18, 2015

    Dozens of miners employed by the Oltenia Energy Complex are protesting either by blocking themselves underground or by hunger strike. They protest the fact that the state company has announced they would lay off 2000 employees, paying a small number of severance salaries. At the same time, the over 1,200 employees of a quarry in Valcea County, recently taken over by Oltenia Energy Complex, have gone on work stoppage. The company and the unions continue the negotiations for the collective labor agreement for 2015. Management has already laid out a restructuring plan for this year and plans to sign the collective labor agreement by the end of the month.



    Former head of the National Integrity Agency Horia Georgescu has been detained after the highest court of appeal endorsed the warrant submitted by anti-corruption prosecutors. He resigned after indictment in a case of abuse in office with damages to the state worth 75 million Euro. Georgescu is accused of involvement in the over-evaluation of property set for restitution, between 2008 and 2009, when he worked at the national institution supposed to be regulating the compensation of owners of abusively nationalized property. Also today, the judicial committee in the Senate votes on liftig parliamentary immunity for Dan Sova, former Minister of Transportation and Member of Parliament. He is also under accusation of abuse of office, in a case involing two state companies. At the same time, mayor of Constanta Radu Mazare has been released pending investigation. He is accused of bribes worth nine million Euro.



    Over 25 Romanian companies attend the IT fair in Hanover, Germany, the most significant such event in the world. The RomaniaIT pavilion offers mainly software solutions for a large array of applications, according to the Ministry of Trade and Economy in Bucharest. This edition, ending on March 20, is attended by over 3,700 companies in 75 countries. Organizers expect the number of visitors to reach around 250,000.

  • Integrity and Corruption

    Integrity and Corruption


    The Romanian Anti-Corruption Directorate continues its triumphal march, leaving behind prime victims in the world of public administration, which is rife with people who don’t care much about how legal their activities are. The targets of the ACD are not just politicians, such as mayors or county council chairmen, or MPs and ministers. They are also members of the system built to combat the corrupt practices that held sway in the 25 years that have passed since the fall of communism. On Monday, anti-corruption prosecutors opened a case against the president of the National Integrity Agency, Horia Georgescu, suspected of abuse of office.



    In 2008 and 2009, when working for the National Agency for the Restitution of Property, Georgescu allegedly endorsed reports that over-evaluated several buildings. The damage to the state amounts to 75 million Euro. This case is not exactly a surprise, considering that recently it was proven that anyone could fall under the scrutiny of the ACD, but it is intriguing, given that Georgescu seemed to be a very capable, well-meaning civil servant, inspiring confidence. At the same time, the case might throw the National Integrity Agency in a dangerous area where it has lost public trust, which a large number of politicians and agency members have struggled to gain.



    The National Integrity Agency has been praised in European Commission reports, as one of the institutions that absolutely had to exist in the Romanian justice system. That was also the case of the directorate in charge of prosecuting organized crime, the DIICOT, as it is known by its Romanian name. Its head prosecutor, Alina Bica, was detained late last year. The similarities between the Georgescu and Bica cases do not stop here. The latter is accused of abuse of office as well, as a member of the same agency that Georgescu worked in, for the same charge of over-evaluating property to be restituted.



    However, there is a full half of the glass. The justice system is proving that it can achieve self-cleaning by ridding itself of even higher-up people who have broken the rules. Also on Monday, the ACD opened several cases against Radu Mazare, mayor of Constanta, Romania’s Black Sea port. He is rather influential in the Social Democratic Party, and stands accused of several counts of bribery, abuse of office and conflict of interest, even though he has been holding on tightly to his mayoral seat for 15 years, and in spite of the fact that he has a lot of media notoriety.