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The progress made by Romania is sufficient to fulfill the commitments under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism assumed upon joining the European Union, and all benchmarks can be satisfactorily closed, it is shown in the latest CVM report, presented on Tuesday by the European Commission, which states that from now on, it will no longer monitor Romania within the CVM, the evaluation being to continue annually through the general mechanism at the EU level regarding the rule of law.
The European Commission's report on the reform of the judicial system and the fight against corruption appreciates the progress made by Romania regarding the recommendations and the fulfillment of the CVM conditionality since the previous report, from June 2021.
The report "positively notes Romania's significant efforts to implement all these recommendations through new legislation, policies, and tools to strengthen the judiciary and combat corruption", a release from the EU Executive reads.
Among the important reforms are the recently adopted justice laws and a new strategy for the development of the judicial system.
The European Commission also notes Romania's commitment to take into account the opinion of the Venice Commission regarding the justice laws and to take additional measures if necessary.
"On the fight against corruption, state institutions are joining forces to implement a new national anti-corruption strategy, and a positive track record in the effectiveness of the investigation and sanctioning of high-level corruption has continued through 2021 and 2022," the EC report adds.
"Parliament has improved the procedure around lifting political immunities and Romanian institutions responsible for applying rules on integrity and conflicts of interest, and for managing and recovering criminal assets, have been working effectively," the EU Executive says in its report.
"Finally, Romania is making swift progress in revising its Criminal Codes, as well as consolidating its integrity framework," the European Commission says, adding that "the completion of these important reforms are also milestones under Romania's Recovery and Resilience Plan".
"The Commission will continue to cooperate with Romania for their successful delivery, in line with EU law and international anti-corruption standards," the report also says.
Still, Brussels says it is important that Romania "continues to work consistently on translating the remaining commitments specified in the report into concrete legislation and on continued implementation",within the mechanism regarding the rule of law.AGERPRES
