ROMANIA European Commission warnings

The European Commission's annual report on Romania's progress toward full accession has caused a major stir in the country's political, financial, and business circles. The EC, in its annual report, does not consider Romania to possess the necessary characteristics to be classified as a free market economy. The arguments presented in the report focus primarily on shortcomings identified in the fight against corruption, where no substantial improvements have been observed, and on the arbitrary administration of justice.
It should be noted that within business circles, the European Commission's actions have been interpreted as a warning to the Romanian government regarding the importance it attaches not only to strengthening anti-corruption institutions but also to their objective effectiveness. This is undoubtedly one of the issues of greatest concern to both the European Commission and the other Northern European member states (especially Germany), which view Romania's accession to the European Commission with suspicion if it does not genuinely demonstrate its commitment to combating fraud.

It is also important to mention that the report was published just months before the next general election and following the recent resignation of several ministers in Nastase's government, precisely due to corruption-related reasons. These resignations were practically forced after Nastase himself publicly defended the ministers.

The EC has clarified that the conclusions of the aforementioned report should not be interpreted as an insurmountable obstacle to final integration in 2007, but rather as a working tool that the Romanian Government should use in the future.