The ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) has called the embassies’ appeal to the Government a “lack of courtesy for a Government appointed by a legitimate Parliament majority, with a consistently pro-European and pro-Atlantic agenda,” News.ro reported.

On April 3, a letter signed by the embassies of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United States asked the Government to refrain from any changes to the judiciary laws that would weaken the rule of law and fight against corruption in the country.

The PSD referenced the 1961 Vienna Convention “according to which the official communication of the embassies accredited in one state for the purpose of obtaining clarifications or the potential sending of concerns is done directly with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and with other state institutions that are competent in that matter and not through public messages.” It said the letter of the 12 embassies broke the provisions of the Vienna Convention.

The party also called on foreign affairs minister Teodor Meleşcanu and the minister delegate for European Affairs Ana Birchall to “come out of the state of passivity and surprising discretion and invite the heads of the diplomatic missions to an open dialogue.”

The embassies’ letter came on the same day that European Commission first vice president Frans Timmermans issued a strong warning to Romania, asking the country’s Government to refrain from measures that would weaken the independence of the judiciary.

The Romanian Government was reportedly preparing to adopt one or more emergency ordinances to change the Criminal Code and other laws concerning the functioning of the justice system on Wednesday, April 3. The emergency ordinances, pushed by the ruling party – the Social Democratic Party (PSD) have been on the Government’s agenda for several weeks, but the European Commission has been pressing prime minister Viorica Dăncilă to give up this initiative.

Meanwhile, the prime minister declared herself surprised by the statements of Frans Timmermans. 

She said Timmermans’s statements produced inaccuracies, News.ro reported. In reference to the letter sent by the embassies, she said that she had attempted to discuss with the respective ambassadors but it wasn’t possible.

“I wanted to have individual talks with every ambassador in this group but they refused. I want to remind the ambassadors that we are in Romania and I am communicating with my counterparts. I recommend that they turn to the authorities of the country because the ambassadors do not set the agenda of any state; as a prime minister, I will not allow this. They need to show respect for Romania, just as our ambassadors in every state respect that respective state,” the PM said, quoted by News.ro.

She argued that “this unpleasant situation was caused by president Klaus Iohannis’s repeated declarations on the topic of justice,” News.ro reported. 

(Photo: Partidul Social Democrat Facebook Page)

editor@romania-insider.com