site.btaEuropean Commission Concludes Reports on Romania Under Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

The European Commission (EC) announced Tuesday that Romania has met the criteria set out in the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification (CVM). The EC adds that it will no longer report on Romania under the CVM, but that monitoring continues and will be reported in the annual EU Rule of Law Report.

The EC will take into account the opinion of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament before discontinuing monitoring altogether. The EC will return to this issue, including with regard to Bulgaria, in the coming months, the EC said in a statement.

It is specified that the decision to fully terminate monitoring under the CVM is taken solely by the EC. It is noted that the European legislation provides that before closing the mechanism the EC should consult the EU Council in due time and take into account its opinion.

Since 2007, the EC has monitored Romania and Bulgaria under the CVM in the areas of justice and the fight against corruption, and, for Bulgaria, the fight against organised crime. In 2019, the EC issued its last report on Bulgaria and recommended to the EU Council to terminate the monitoring mechanism, but no final decision in this direction has been taken so far.