April 3 (SeeNews) - The European Commission warned Romania on Wednesday it would take action against Bucharest if the government does not get back on track with the fight against corruption.
"Romania urgently needs to put the reform process back on track. This means going forward, not backwards and refraining from any steps which reverse the progress accumulated in the past years," European Commission first vice president Frans Timmermans said during a press briefing in Brussels, as seen in a video file published on the website of the EU's executive body.
"I want to warn against any governmental action that would disrupt the Romanian judicial system by creating a systemic de-facto impunity for high office holders who were sentenced for corruption. Such a move would compel the Commission to act swiftly," Timmermans added.
Timmermans added that he has had several meetings and a couple of phone calls with Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila during the past two months on issues related to judicial independence.
"We've handed over more than 40 issues to the Romanian prime minister. We have also restarted tech discussions on implementing Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) recommendations and additional issues. We need results urgently. But I've always made clear that talking for the sake of talking will not be enough and concrete actions for the Romanian government will be needed and will be needed sooner rather than later," Timmermans said.
According to local news portal G4Media, the government is preparing to issue a new emergency decree to amend Criminal Codes.
Also on Wednesday, the Commission said that it is launching a reflection process on the rule of law in the European Union and setting out possible avenues for future action.
In March, Timmermans again urged Romania to get back on track in its anti-corruption fight and stop interfering with magistrates' independence.
In February, the government approved an emergency decree which changes justice bills, sparking fresh criticism from the European Commission, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis and opposition parties and led to publci protests.