EC's First Vice-President Timmermans says since publishing of CVM report no progress was recorded

First Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans stated on Monday that he didn't see any progress since the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) report was published and he wishes for the experts of the European Commission and the Government representatives to discuss about the points that should be solved. I said it very clearly that I want to talk to the Romanian Government about the recommendations in the CVM report. I have handed-over the document to the Prime Minister and I hope that we will have our experts meeting soon and we want to make sure that we can make progress on the rule of law in Romania, we want to make sure that the fight against corruption isn't abandoned, that we continue this fight, because it's very, very important for the future of this country (...) The problem for me is that, since the publishing of the CVM report we have seen no progress, we've only seen a refusal, a rebuttal of the Commission's document by the Romanian Government. I want us to sit down and go through all the points in the Commission's CVM report and see if we can solve them. I am here in the spirit of cooperation, I want to solve these issues, but I also want to make it perfectly clear that these issues are very seriously indeed and we need to see progress, First Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans stated in a press statement after being bestowed upon the Doctor Honoris Causa honorary distinction by the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA). Timmermans mentioned that the document presented to the PM exposed "very clearly" the EC's point of view and voiced his hope that this document becomes the basis of some constructive discussion. When asked whether the triggering of Article 7 represents a possibility, the First Vice-President of the European Commission replied that he doesn't wish to make speculations regarding the next step, because each country is different and, in Romania's case, the settlement of the issues which generated disagreements is possible precisely through the CVM. And hopefully we might agree tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, but now we have to invest in this relationship to make sure we make steps forward. (...) If you envisage new legislation, why don't you come to us and ask for our advice, why do you not ask for the advice of an independent body with huge expertise, which is the Venice Commission, so that we know you don't make steps in the wrong direction? We are at your disposal, to help you to do this, I know there is a need to transpose the decisions of the Constitutional Court into legislation, but let's do it in a way that we do not relinquish on the fight against corruption and that we do respect the independence of the judiciary in Romania, Timmermans stated. When asked about the Section for investigating crimes in Justice, Timmermans stated that he doesn't wish to assess the manner in which various institutions work, but underscored that the independence of the judiciary should be respected. AGERPRES (RO - author: Irinela Visan, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Cristina Zaharia)