Romania sees some progress in the fight against graft

(BUCHAREST) - Romania has made some "breakthroughs" in its fight against corruption with ex-ministers sentenced to jail and a doubling of final convictions in high-level cases in 2011, experts told AFP.

"Things have changed, there is a new atmosphere in the justice system. No one can afford to delay corruption trials just because a lawyer raises an eyebrow or by setting a file aside", Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu told a news conference Monday while acknowledging that "much remains to be done".

A total of 298 people including lawmakers, mayors and directors of public institutions were convicted for high-level corruption offences with a final ruling in 2011, up from 154 in 2010, according to figures released Monday by the anti-graft prosecutor's office DNA.

Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria have been described for years the worst pupils of the European class in terms of corruption and rule of law.

The two former communist dictatorships had to rebuild their judiciary from scratch after their return to democracy 22 years ago.

The European Union's executive Commission has kept them under strict surveillance since they joined the bloc in 2007.

But in a February assessment, Brussels praised Bucharest for "accelerating the trial of high-level corruption cases".

In the last two months, trial chambers have handed jail sentences to a former prime minister (between 2000 and 2004), Adrian Nastase, and to two agriculture ministers found guilty of corruption and accepting bribes.

"These rulings are important milestones. The true test of judicial independence is for judges to be brave enough to rule in cases involving powerful politicians of businessmen. This is what we see today and it happens for the first time in Romanian history", Laura Stefan anticorruption expert for the think tank Expert Forum, told AFP calling the move a "breakthrough".

At a time of euroscepticism, she thinks the European Union booked "a clear success" by "constantly and consistently" putting pressure on Romania to implement reforms.

"The rulings are proof that the tide is slowly reversing -- from a culture of impunity to a rule of law state where nobody is above the law", she added.

But "the road is still long", a European diplomat told AFP, stressing, like Stefan, that the cases of the former ministers were not final and could still fall within the statutes of limitation.

"The fragile progress will have to be consolidated for years and will need unbending political will", said the same source.

"Public trust cannot be won overnight, especially after years of disappointments", Stefan added.

The recent attempt from two MPs from the ruling coalition to protect lawmakers and other dignitaries from being prosecuted for conflict of interest is an example of the recurrent threats to the process.

The rise in the number of cases investigated by anti-graft prosecutor Daniel Morar shows the effectiveness of his office, says the EU. But also the size of the problem.

"I did not see any decreasing trend in the number of corruption offences. You have to see the number of mayors and other high-level public officials charged last year. The change of mentality has not happened yet", Morar told AFP looking back at his almost seven years at the helm of the DNA.