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World / Europe

Romania mulls court challenge to critical EU report

Published: 14 Nov 2018 - 05:29 pm | Last Updated: 08 Nov 2021 - 12:53 pm
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Macron welcome Romania's President Klaus Werner Iohannis and his wife Carmen Iohannis at the Elysee Palace in Paris on November 11, 2018 AFP / Jacques Demarthon

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Macron welcome Romania's President Klaus Werner Iohannis and his wife Carmen Iohannis at the Elysee Palace in Paris on November 11, 2018 AFP / Jacques Demarthon

AFP

Bucharest:  Romania is weighing whether to legally challenge a scathing EU report blasting controversial judicial reforms it has made, government lawmakers said Wednesday.

The row has intensified just weeks before the country takes over the EU's rotating presidency on January 1.

The report issued Tuesday by the European Commission criticised Romania for the judicial reforms, which have raised concerns over threats to the rule of law and democratic values.

Critics say the changes pushed through by the government are unconstitutional and threaten judicial independence.

Nicusor Halici, chairman of the parliament's judicial committee and a member of the governing Social Democrats, confirmed that lawmakers from the ruling majority were debating whether to take action against the EU report at the European Court of Justice.

"We want justice for the Romanian people. Europe has double standards and we feel that an injustice was done," Halici said.

The deputy speaker in the Chamber of Deputies, Florin Iordache, a former justice minister, told the Ziare.com news website: "I think that this political document must be challenged."

Since joining the European Union in 2007, Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria have been subject to special monitoring of their judicial systems. But Bucharest has been chafing at the supervision.

"We can no longer accept that Romanians are chided or asked things that others in the rest of Europe are not," Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said late Tuesday.

In a non-binding vote, the European Parliament on Tuesday warned Romania against undermining the independence of its courts and the fight against corruption before it assumes the EU presidency.