EC closely monitors Romania, asks authorities to abide by the rule of law after invalid referendum

The European Commission recently asked all political actors in Romania to comply with the decision of the Constitutional Court, which declared the July 29 referendum to impeach the country's president invalid. “The European Commission expects the Romanian authorities to abide by the rule of law and the decisions of the Constitutional Court,” the EC writes in a statement.

The EC called on all political actors to respect European values and to work in Romania's best interests, also saying that it will closely monitor the country. The Commission reminded of the upcoming report under the cooperation and verification mechanism, which should be adopted before the end of the year, suggesting any failure to comply with the law might be mentioned in there and affect Romania's path under the verification mechanism. The presidential impeachment referendum held in Romania at the end of July was invalid, the country’s Constitutional Court decided after checking the electoral roll. Suspended president Traian Basescu will return at the helm of the country. Only 46.24 percent of Romanians attended the referendum, on July 29, and 87.5 percent of them voted for the impeachment of the president, according to final official data. A less than half plus one attendance of registered voters meant the vote was invalid and allowed the suspended president to return to office. The referendum result stirred political debate in Romania and was invalidated after around a month. Various EU level officials commented on Romania's situation on numerous occasions during this period. editor@romania-insider.com