Bundestag European Affairs Commission president asks EC president Barroso to start suspension procedures against Romania

Gunther Krichbaum, the president of the European Affairs Commission in the German Parliament the Bundestag, recently asked the European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso to start the infringement procedures against Romania and suspend its votes in the European Council for having undermined the state and democracy. "I am writing with great concern about the current political situation in Romania. Latest developments indicate that Romania is heading for a "guided democracy". In recent weeks, political structures have been altered at a rapid speed. The rule of law was undermined, judicial independence has been questioned and democratically elected structures have been suspended," said Krichbaum, in a letter to Barroso that was published on his website. "He also questioned the accession of Romania to Schengen area. The full letter (in German) here. Romania's governing coalition the Social Liberal Union (USL) replaced the speaker of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies, the Ombudsman and started the presidential impeachment procedures in Parliament, while changing the referendum law. Commentators say these measures have been taken without complying with the rules. He believes that the situation in Romania and the assault on democracy itself exceed the events that have been criticized in Hungary this year, and need tougher action at a European level than those for Budapest. "Therefore, I am asking the Commission you lead to consider the initiation of the procedure under EU Treaty Article 7 (paragraph 3), and the infringement procedure under Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. During these procedures, the voting rights of the country should be suspended,” said Krichbaum. He also believed the same alarming changes should be reflected in the next report under the Mechanism on Cooperation and Verification (MCV). "After some progress in the fight against corruption - given the verdict against former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase – the current actions in Romania are a big step back. In any case, if it was ever considered that the MCV was not needed anymore, recent events have confirmed the need to maintain it," the German went on. editor@romania-insider.com