Csaba Sógor: The abuses of the Romanian institutions in the fight against corruption cannot be left unmentioned
The importance of the anti-corruption fight is undisputable, but the exaggerations of the Romanian authorities cannot be left unmentioned. Often enough the media announces accusations before the authorities, and these charges may or may not be confirmed later - declared MEP Csaba Sógor during the May 7th meeting of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament during the debate on the European Commission’s 2014 report on Romania's and Bulgaria's progress on judiciary reform.
The report, which examines the progress of the two countries made within the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, welcomes the progress made by the Romanian anti-corruption institutions. In addition it formulates additional recommendations regarding areas such as the independence of the judiciary system, the judicial reform, the efficiency and consistency of the judicial system, or the fight against corruption and the application of integrity rules. The representative of the Commission stated during the meeting: the Eurobarometer survey shows that there is a clear support in Romania for continuing the European monitoring, and the Romanians have confidence in the anti-corruption actions.
RMDSZ MEP Csaba Sógor also welcomed the efforts made by Romania in the fight against corruption. However, in his opinion the excesses and abuses of the authorities cause uncertainty in the Romanian society. “We should not make the mistake of violating the basic human right of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, either in the case of judicial custody procedures or in the treatment in the media of cases” – said the MEP.
The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was set up in 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union. It was agreed that further efforts are needed in certain key areas such as the reform of the judiciary system or the fight against corruption in order to address deficiencies. Since then the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism reports have illustrated the progress made by Romania and Bulgaria and made recommendations to support the authorities in their efforts.
