President Iohannis welcomes EC's Timmermans to discuss amending justice legislation in Romania

Amendments to Romania's justice legislation were the main topic discussed at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace by President Klaus Iohannis and First Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights Frans Timmermans.

According to a press statement released by the Presidential Administration, Timmermans mentioned that the Romanian society is increasingly more supporting the values of the rule of law, demonstrating that citizens want a modern, European Romania, fair justice and a balanced society. He also mentioned that there is no doubt that justice in Romania is independent, but recent public attacks on justice have created a negative image for Romania. At the same time, the European official praised Romania for its very good results in recent years in the fight against corruption.

"The main topic at the meeting was amending Romania's justice legislation, along with the continuation of the fight against corruption. The President of Romania stressed that he remains committed to observing the rule of law, guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and supporting the fight against corruption. Regarding the justice legislation, President Klaus Iohannis mentioned that he wants to improve them, as Romanian citizens need good laws that strengthen the independence of the judiciary and guarantee the functioning of the rule of law."

Iohannis is further quoted as saying that the efficiency of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate's activity in the fight against corruption is unquestionable.

He said that democracy in recent years has significantly strengthened in Romania, and the civic spirit of Romanian society is becoming increasingly more active, which shows its maturity. He underscored that the judiciary is fully independent and operates efficiently in this context, noting that it will make every effort, within the limits of its constitutional prerogatives, to ensure the functioning of an independent judiciary system in Romania and to consolidate the rule of law.

Timmermans said in his turn that he is visiting Romania as part of the assessment by the European Commission of Romania's progress with judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). In his opinion, Romania has reached important milestones in recent years. However, Timmermans pointed out that even if there is firm commitment to lift the CVM supervision before the term in office of the incumbent European Commission expires, but that goal will only be achieved once all the related conditions have been met. AGERPRES (RO - author: Catalina Matei, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)