The president of Romania's Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) Lidia Barbulescu said on Thursday that the European Commission report published on Wednesday regarding the evolution of Romanian justice reform and fight against corruption was "balanced, critical and constructive". She said as CSM talks concluded today that several measures have been taken today to improve issues signaled in the EC report.
Barbulescu said that at the next session of the CSM in September a more precise analysis of the technical contents of the report would be made to establish clear moves that have to be taken.
Asked what Romanian president Traian Basescu disapproved of about CSM activities during talks with Council members today, Barbulescu said that Basescu was critical about the same issues signaled in the EC report.
Basescu asked the media leave the session room during CSM talks today and left the CSM headquarters without any media statement.
For his part, Justice minister Catalin Predoiu said that the CSM session today was not about disapproval of this or that, but about measures due to be taken so that the next EC report on the evolution of justice reform and fight against corruption in Romania be a positive one.
The EC report on Wednesday said the process of judicial reform in Romania offered a mixed picture as progress has been made in the sector, but major political interference still existed and high level corruption cases were left unsolved so far.
Measures announced by Lidia Barbulescu today include:
- improved professional training of judges and prosecutors in fighting graft
- a continuation of recruitment activities in the judiciary
- a joint Justice Ministry, Prosecutor's Office and National Anti-Corruption Department independent study on solving financial-economic crimes including graft-related crimes
- continuing the implementation of the public communication strategy
