Save Romania Union (USR) argues that a new minister of Justice is needed, in the context in which our country remains among the EU countries with the worst performance regarding the implementation of anti-corruption measures, with 46 points out of a possible 100, according to a Transparency International report.
"It is not at all surprising, in the context in which we have been witnessing in recent years a competition between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) as to who will give more blows to the Justice, while the referee Iohannis encourages them from the sidelines. Under the 'preoccupation' and 'concern' of president Iohannis, an anti-reformist network seized the judiciary, colluded with the politicians, harassed and, sometimes, removed the brave magistrates from the judiciary and put its shoulder to the hijacking of the anti-corruption fight," the USR press release reads, agerpres reports.
The representatives of the Save Romania Union mention that there is a need for a new minister of Justice "who will not be conducted" by Klaus Iohannis and people "without political involvement, competent" at the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) and the General Prosecutor's Office for the anti-corruption fight to once again become a priority.
"The stagnation in the gray area of the international rankings that measure how the fight against corruption is perceived reveals that the rule of law does not work effectively and there is no trust in the efficiency of the institutions. It also shows that it is not enough to talk about fighting corruption, to applaud the annual stocktaking reports, to say that you change the laws in order to have anti-corruption results, but you have to act in this sense. What (former liberal Justice minister, ed. n.) Predoiu did, under the umbrella of PSD-PNL and with the agreement of Iohannis, change the laws of justice and let go of the appointments of chief prosecutors on a procedure in which the politician decides who leads the anti-corruption institutions and against organized crime, there was no way to raise the country in the anti-corruption rankings, but to sink it even more," declared deputy Stelian Ion, former Minister of Justice.
"We have a governing coalition that gave blow after blow in the anti-corruption fight. They appointed servile people to the National Anti-corruption Directorate and the General Prosecutor's Office, they ignored the opinions of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), and the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) gave the big pardon by prescribing the facts. Corruption remains the main problem. Corruption affects our lives: from health, education, to economic development and justice. They are not just numbers in international statistics, it is the reality that millions of Romanians face every day. We don't have modern hospitals and schools because of this," said USR deputy Silviu Dehelean.
Romania further remains among the EU countries with the worst performance in terms of the implementation of anti-corruption measures, with 46 points out of a possible 100, which reflects significant deficiencies in the rule of law, according to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, released on Tuesday by Transparency International on a global level.