Romanian president: European Commission report is correct, local debates are too partisan

The discussions about the recent Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (MCV) report were deeply politically – rooted, said Romanian President Traian Basescu in a recent public speech. But he thinks the report is correct, as it is based on facts and on the political actions of the high level Romanians, giving a true mirror of the state institutions' actions. He underlined the fact that he expresses Romania's official position towards the report. “Romanians were fooled using the media, but Western Europe looks at facts, at Government, Parliament and Presidential actions,” said the president. “What we need to do is to take into account all the ideas in the report and take action to eliminate the negative, for one reason only: not because the EC asks us, but because these are the EU standards, and we pledged to follow them,” he went on. Basescu also underlined how the report shows that top level politicians in Romania don't comply with European standards. He also clarified something in the report which was a topic of debate in the media. The report had asked for clear rules binding journalists or media institutions who harm the public institutions and the judiciary system, with the National Audiovisual Council tasked with taking measures to respect the code of conduct. “The report does not ask for a law of the press. It underlines the need for press freedom and asks sanctions and damages for those who are unfairly attacked in the media,” Basescu explained. The most recent report covering Romania's progress was a short one – just eight pages – and used a milder than expected tone, after the harsh report in the summer of 2012, when Romania was in the middle of a political row. More about the recent report here and here. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: presidency.ro)