General State of Corruption

In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2005, an annual survey in which business people are asked to rate a country's degree of corruption on a scale from one to ten, (ten being "highly clean" and zero being "highly corrupt"), Transparency International (TI) indicated that Romania's score was 3.0, or 85th out of 159 countries (TI 2005). TI's Global Corruption Barometer 2005 found that 22 per cent of Romanians had paid bribes in the previous year (ibid. 9 Dec. 2005, 23) and that the average Romanian paid US$154 (purchasing power parity) in bribes in the previous year (ibid., 12). A news article stated that average wages amounted to less than US$350 per month (BBC 4 Feb. 2006). According to World Bank figures cited by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Romanians paid a total of about 500,000 British Pounds [or approximately CAN$1,010,650 (Bank of Canada 3 Feb. 2006)] yearly in bribes to obtain adequate health care services (BBC 4 Feb. 2006). A poll cited in the same February 2006 BBC article found that 85 per cent of Romanians felt that they could not have a fair trial unless they paid a bribe (ibid.).

The Global Corruption Barometer 2005 also indicated that Romanians generally considered that political parties, the parliament, police, the judiciary, and customs officials were "corrupt" (TI 9 Dec. 2005, 19), although it also indicated that approximately one in five Romanians believed that corruption had decreased between 2002 and 2005 (ibid., 21).

Media sources also cited evidence of progress in Romania's fight against corruption (Mediafax 18 Nov. 2005; Rompres 14 Mar. 2006). For instance, on 18 November 2005, Mediafax cited a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which stated that the proportion of company revenues used to pay bribes had decreased from 2.5 per cent of annual revenues in 2002 to roughly 0.7 per cent in 2005. Citing Quinton Quayle, the British ambassador to Romania, Rompres noted that "the business climate has improved considerably in Romania" as evidenced by increasing foreign investment in the country (14 Mar. 2006)

Government Agencies Criticized for Corruption

There were several reports on allegations of official corruption in Romania between 2005 and 2006 (AI 2005; Transitions Online 23 Jan. 2006; Adevarul 13 Apr. 2006; Global Insight Daily Analysis 20 Jan. 2006). According to Global Insight Daily Analysis, "[a]llegations or evidence of corruption are endless at present, with parties on all sides variously interested in propagating rumours for their own profit" (ibid. 6 Feb. 2006).

Global Insight Daily Analysis also indicated that the current Romanian government was initially seen as less corrupt than its predecessor, but with the growing number of corruption allegations this idea was increasingly questioned (ibid. 20 Jan. 2006). However, Global Insight Daily Analysis also postulated that the upsurge in corruption cases involving the current government could be due to the fact that "prosecuting authorities are just acting with more zeal - much of the judiciary was appointed by the [opposition Social Democratic Party] PSD" (ibid.).

In its 2005 annual report, Amnesty International (AI) stated that, in Romania, "[t]he government failed to curb widespread corruption in the management of public funds and organization of public services, particularly health care." AI also reported allegations that the Prime Minister and his ruling party were involved in corrupt practices with the judiciary and the media (2005).

In January 2006, at least three prominent politicians were accused of corruption (Transitions Online 23 Jan. 2006):

Deputy Prime Minister George Copos was being investigated after it was alleged that he had corrupt dealings with Romanian Lottery (RL); it was anticipated that he would be charged with abuse of office and tax evasion (ibid.; Global Insight Daily Analysis 20 Jan. 2006).

Adrian Nastase, former prime minister and current speaker of the lower house of parliament, resigned from his position as leader of the PSD following a scandal involving inheritance received by his wife (Transitions Online 23 Jan. 2006; BBC 4 Feb. 2006). According to Reuters, the European Union (EU) praised Romania for laying corruption charges against Nastase (14 Apr. 2006).

Dan Ioan Popescu, a member of parliament and leader of the PSD's Bucharest branch, was to be tried by the High Court of Justice for unaccounted assets valued at US$1.5 million (Transitions Online 23 Jan. 2006).

Other government officials under investigation for corruption included Miron Mitrea, the former Minister of Transport (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 233), Economy Minister Codrut Seres (Global Insight Daily Analysis 6 Feb. 2006), several high police officials working under the Ministry of the Interior (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 233), and several top officers in the Romanian army (Adevarul 13 Apr. 2006).

Citing a poll conducted by the Association for Democracy Implementation (AID), an organization involved in a program to sensitize Romanian citizens to the problems of corruption, Rompres stated that "young people regard border policemen and the ones working with the passport issuing department as being the most corrupt" (Rompres 22 Mar. 2006). In addition, it noted that more than half of those surveyed doubted the effectiveness of some of Romania's anti-corruption institutions (Rompres 22 Mar. 2006).

Government Measures to Combat Corruption

Romania has ratified several international conventions on corruption: the Council of Europe (COE) Civil Law Convention on Corruption, the COE Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, the United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption, and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 230).

In February 2005, following recommendations from the Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), Romania adopted an "'urgency ordinance'" which ended the immunity of members of former governments, thus facilitating "the prosecution of past corruption crimes" (ibid.).

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) cited a 28 March 2005 Reuters report in which, following a request from the European Union (EU), Romania announced plans for a two-year anti-corruption strategy, which "include[d] strict guidelines to pass anti-corruption and judicial reform legislation" (RFE/RL 30 Mar. 2005; see also Country Reports 2005 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 2.d). The strategy also promised to improve freedom of information and anti-money laundering laws, and restructure the National Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office (PNA) [whose name was reportedly changed in August 2005 to the National Anticorruption Prosecutor's Department or DNA (ibid.)] and the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), which aimed to be "an effective and independent judiciary" used to fight corruption (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 231-233). Also in March 2005, Romania reportedly passed legislation "forcing public officials to declare jewellery and art assets and include their families in wealth statements for the first time in 15 post-communist years" (Reuters 17 May 2005; see also BBC 4 Feb. 2006).

In August 2005, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Ioan Amarie resigned as head of the PNA which was followed by calls from Justice Minister Monica Macovei that all PNA directors resign and her denunciation of the "'failure of this institution (PNA) in the battle against corruption'" (AFP 2 Aug. 2005). Prior to his resignation, Amarie had also been criticized by the European Commission for his failure to curb "large scale corruption" in the country (ibid.).

In October 2005, The Financial Times reported that Romania had asked Crown Agents, the British consultancy firm, for assistance in the development of strategies to combat official corruption (12 Oct. 2005). According to the The Financial Times, some countries have worked with Crown Agents to successfully curb corruption, while others have chosen other routes due to "national pride or resistance from their customs services" (12 Oct. 2005).

In its 14 October 2005 Evaluation Report on Romania, the GRECO Secretariat of the Council of Europe (COE) made the following assessment of Romania's progress in its fight against official corruption:

Romania has made considerable progress in the field of legislative and institutional reform. Romanian society has managed to adapt quickly to the new political, economic and legal environment, but will no doubt need some time to assimilate all these changes. At the same time, Romania must obtain immediate tangible results in transforming its administration and ensuring its efficient and transparent functioning if it is to combat corruption effectively. A series of corresponding measures have already emerged, such as the adoption of a new anti-corruption strategy and an action plan to implement it, and the scheduled setting up of a National Integrity Agency and a body responsible for verifying declarations of assets and interests and incompatibilities. Further progress is possible in terms of preventing and suppressing corruption in legal persons and in recovering the proceeds of corruption. In all these fields, finalisation of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure and a number of adjustments to legislation, accompanied by effective implementing measures and appropriate training, should help achieve the desired results (COE 14 Oct. 2005, Sec. V).

Despite government efforts to implement anti-corruption programs and legislation, the media and some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reportedly claimed that "no major case of high-level corruption had been prosecuted to date" (Country Reports 2005 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 2.d).

Corruption and EU Accession

In April 2005, Romania signed the accession agreement necessary for eventual entry into the EU (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 232). However, there were conflicting reports on the likelihood that Romania would be able to join the EU by 2007 (ibid.; The Guardian 4 Apr. 2006; RFE/RL 25 Oct. 2005). A 25 October 2005 article by RFE/RL cited the opinion of EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn that Romania might have its EU accession delayed by a year because of corruption and the abuse of EU aid funds. Similarly, TI stated that "the lack of convincing progress in the fight against grand corruption" could delay Romania's accession (1 Feb. 2006, 232). In the winter of 2006, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu reportedly criticized the justice system's handling of Romania's corruption cases, which he feared could delay Romania's accession to the EU (AP 9 Jan. 2006; Reuters 14 Feb. 2006).

However, by April 2006, it appeared likely that Romania would be given authorization to join the EU by 1 January 2007 (The Guardian 4 Apr. 2006; The Financial Times 14 Apr. 2006). The final decision on allowing Romania's 2007 accession to the EU will be made in May 2006 (ibid.; Reuters 14 Feb. 2006).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Adevarul [Bucharest, in Romanian]. 13 April 2006. Bogdan Costache and Liliana Nastase. "A Lot of Stealing in the Army!" (Factiva/BBC Monitoring)

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 2 August 2005. "Head of Romanian Anti-Corruption Body Resigns." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International (AI). 2005. "Romania." Amnesty International Report 2005. http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/rom-summary-eng [Accessed 19 Apr. 2006]

Associated Press (AP). 9 January 2006. "Romanian PM Criticizes Justice Officials for Inefficiency in Fighting Corruption." (Factiva)

Bank of Canada. 3 February 2006. "Currency Conversion Results." http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2006]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 4 February 2006. Oana Lungescu. "Romania Cleans Up Its Act." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4677488.stm [Accessed 19 Apr. 2006]

Council of Europe (COE). 14 October 2005. Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). Second Evaluation Round: Evaluation Report on Romania. http://www.greco.coe.int/evaluations/cycle2/GrecoEval2Rep(2005)1E-Romania.pdf [Accessed 20 Apr. 2006]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. 8 March 2006. "Romania." United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61670.htm [Accessed 19 Apr. 2006]

The Financial Times [London]. 14 April 2006. Kerin Hope and Daniel Dombey. "EU Tells Bulgaria to Crack Down on Graft." (Factiva/FT.com)

_____. 12 October 2005. Christopher Condon. "Romania Calls in UK Firm to Help Fight Corruption." (Factiva)

Global Insight Daily Analysis. 6 February 2006. Mandy Kirby. "Romanian Economy Minister Denies Procurement Corruption Allegations." (Factiva)

_____. 20 January 2006. Mandy Kirby. "Prosecutors Begin Corruption Investigation Into Romanian Deputy PM." (Factiva)

The Guardian [London]. 4 April 2006. Luke Harding and Nicholas Watt. "Bulgaria and Romania to Join EU in 2007 Despite Corruption Fears." (Factiva)

Mediafax. 18 November 2005. "EBRD: Corruption Level in Romania Is Decreasing." (Factiva)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 25 October 2005. Ahto Lobjakas. "EU: Romania, Bulgaria Threatened with Accession Delay." http://www.rferl.org/features/ [Accessed 25 Oct. 2005]

_____. 30 March 2005. Vol. 9, No. 59, Part II. "Romania Prepares Anticorruption Plan... And Clears Hurdle on EU Entry." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 14 April 2006. "Bulgaria Hits Back at EU Criticism of Corruption." (Factiva)

_____. 14 February 2006. Antonia Oprita. "Romanian Anti-Graft Bill May Face New Hurdles - PM." (Factiva)

_____. 17 May 2005. Radu Marinas. "Romanian Parliament Toughens Anti-Graft Law." (Factiva)

Rompres [Bucharest]. 22 March 2006. "Corruption Is Certainly Romania's Thorniest Problem, Says Great Britain's Ambassador in Bucharest." (Factiva)

_____. 14 March 2006. "Business Climate Has Improved Considerably in Romania, British Ambassador Says." (Factiva)

Transitions Online [Prague]. 23 January 2006. Razvan Amariel. "The Persistence of Scandal." (Factiva)

Transparency International (TI). 1 February 2006. "Romania." Global Corruption Report 2006. http://www.transparency.org/content/download/4823/28524/file/Part%202_8_countries%20M_Z.pdf [Accessed 20 Apr. 2006]

_____. 9 December 2005. Report on the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2005. http://www.transparency.org/content/download/2160/12762/file/Global_Corruption_Barometer_2005_(full_report).pdf [Accessed 20 Apr. 2006]

_____. 2005. Corruption Perceptions Index 2005. http://www.transparency.org/layout/set/print/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2005 [Accessed 19 Apr. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet Sites, including: Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania - The Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH), Courrier des Balkans [Arcueil, France], European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), European Union (EU), Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).