The National Integrity Agency: back to square one

There is however one exception: the Senators rejected an amendment tabled by the Legal Affairs Committee in the Lower Chamber, which granted an exception to Trade Union Leaders regarding their wealth declarations.

The new legislative bill, which now has the go-ahead for promulgation by President Traian Băsescu, corresponds more accurately to European wishes and ideas regarding the verification of dignitaries’ wealths, say government representatives, criticized by the opposition, which continues with its slue of complaints.

In accordance with new National Integrity Agency law, wealth declarations, that will remain public, contain details of properties, bank accounts, and jewelry, the only confidential details being those pertaining to property addresses.

In addition, the declarations of financial interests will mention contracts between the state and dignitaries. Another important provision concerns the possibility of investigating any former state dignitaries for a period of up to three years after the conclusion of their mandates.

The National Integrity Agency secretary general, Horia Georgescu, believes that the current form of the law need has been improved compared to the old one, which was criticized by the European Commission.

In the report on the reform of the judiciary in Romania, made public in July, Brussels mentioned the “insufficient political will to support the reform process”, pinpointing that the Law on the National Integrity Agency, the version previously passed by senators, was far from the commitments made by Romania the moment it joined the EU in 2007.

The good functioning of the National Agency of Integrity is one of the conditions imposed by the European Commission to stop the monitoring mechanism of Romania in the fields of justice and fight against corruption.

“With the passing of the National Integrity Agency Law, Romania wins back part of the credibility it lost” believes Romanian PM Emil Boc as quoted by the daily paper Adevarul.

In the Senate, nobody voted against the law, the daily paper GANDUL says, while explaining how the 78 votes for and one abstention were got despite the discontent of the opposition: the Liberal Democratic Party members mobilized in an exemplary way, and the final vote was obtained also with the support of the Liberals who said they gave a political vote to prove that they were not against “the national interest”.

Also the Social Democrats abstained from voting making sure they would not become “scapegoats”.

(Radio România Internaţional, Serviciul în limba engleză).