Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) has informed the European Commission that it no longer wants to be part of the European Commission’s evaluation process of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).

CCR president Valer Dorneanu has informed the EC delegates who came to Bucharest for the annual CVM evaluation that the institution would no longer take part in this process, local Adevarul reported. Dorneanu argued that the Constitutional Court’s role obliged it to abstain from expressing points of view on matters that are in public debate and may have political connotations. CCR considers that the CVM evaluation is a political matter and doesn’t want to be part of it.

However, former CCR president Augustin Zagrean, who participated in talks with EC delegates in the past, says these talks were exclusively technical and that the Court’s opinions have been favorably reflected in the CVM evaluation reports.

Romania’s new prime minister Viorica Dancila said she was confident the EC would lift the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) on Romania by next year. However, the EC is still concerned about the possible back steps Romania may take in justice reform and the fight against corruption and has warned that the CVM would only be lifted when the process becomes irreversible.

editor@romania-insider.com