Romanian senate green-lights legal probe into ministers

(BUCHAREST) - Romania's Senate voted Tuesday to launch legal actions against a current and a former minister, accused of corruption and treason, two weeks after the lower house blocked the prosecution of two other former ministers.

In a first vote, senators decided to allow the anti-corruption directorate (DNA) to continue investigating Labour Minister Paul Pacuraru, accused of leaning on mining companies to ensure that his son's firm won tenders to organise training courses.

The senators also approved legal action against former Economy Minister Codrut Seres, accused of spying during the privatisation of several companies.

Pacuraru and Seres, both senators themselves, rejected the accusations and said they hoped their names would be "cleared by the courts."

Tuesday's vote came two weeks after the lower house of parliament blocked the prosecution of former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his then transport minister Miron Mitrea.

Romania, which joined the European Union on January 1, 2007, was criticised in a July report by the EU Commission for not doing enough to stamp out high-level corruption.

Eight current and former ministers are presently being investigated, notably on corruption charges.

Under Romanian law, the prosecution must get the go-ahead from either the Assembly or the Senate before it can proceed with investigations.

The European Commission is still monitoring Romania's progress on justice reform and combating corruption on behalf of member nations concerned about shortcomings in these areas.