European Commission issues new warning to Romania after relaxation of anti-graft laws

The European Commission is planning new countermeasures against Romania following the country's relaxation of 
anti-corruption laws, a commission spokesperson is quoted by dpa news agency as having said on April 30. 

At issue, it is reported, is a vote last week by Romanian Parliament on revising the Criminal code and Code of Criminal Procedure. dpa says earlier in April the commission already warned Romania that it would face '''swift and decisive action'' should Parliament pass that legislation. 

In response to a journalist's question on Tuesday on what the commission response would be, the spokesperson said: "If your question is whether swift and decisive action will happen in the case you mentioned, the answer is yes. Yes, it will happen." He did not provide further details on what such countermeasures would be. 

According to dpa, one possibility is an infringement proceeding, which would ultimately land at the European Court of Justice. Another is a sanctions process for rule-of-law violations, known as Article 7, which the European Union has already launched against Poland and Hungary. 

Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty opens a path for sanctions against a member state and a temporary loss of EU Council voting rights. The mechanism is triggered when one of the bloc's members violates the values of "human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities."