Romania's Justice Minister explains submitting integrity bill despite reservations

Interim Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu has clarified his rationale for submitting a legislative proposal on integrity in his capacity as a senator. Predoiu explained that the move was a political and state decision aimed at resolving a deadlock and preventing the loss of a key milestone within Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

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From my point of view, it was a political and state decision, meant to offer a chance to get out of a deadlock, with all the associated image costs, sometimes unavoidable in such situations, which I was aware of.

He noted that the version presented to Parliament incorporated amendments from consulting political parties, even though some did not entirely reflect his personal legal perspective. Predoiu stated that his initial project, developed with the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and submitted to the European Commission, contained the transparency guarantees required by ANI and national and European jurisprudence.

Following consultations initiated by the prime minister, PNL, USR, and UDMR formulated amendments. Predoiu indicated that two parties had conditioned their participation on the inclusion of their proposals. The alternative, he suggested, would have been continued parliamentary inaction. As an interim government cannot initiate legislation, Predoiu submitted the bill as a senator to unblock the process.

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My duty was to unblock the parliamentary process.

"My duty was to unblock the parliamentary process," Predoiu stated, emphasizing that the final form of the law will be determined by Parliament. He reiterated that his full legal vision is captured in the project submitted to the European Commission, but his immediate responsibility was to overcome the legislative impasse.

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My full legal vision on the subject is faithfully reflected in the Project developed by the National Integrity Agency and the Ministry of Justice, submitted to the European Commission. My duty was to unblock the parliamentary process.