Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BUCHAREST353
2005-02-09 14:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bucharest
Cable title:  

ROMANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS EXPRESS CAUTIOUS

Tags:  PGOV PREL KJUS KDEM ECON EAID RO 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 000353 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID and DOJ OPDAT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS KDEM ECON EAID RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS EXPRESS CAUTIOUS
OPTIMISM FOR PROGRESS AGAINST CORRUPTION


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 000353

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID and DOJ OPDAT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS KDEM ECON EAID RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS EXPRESS CAUTIOUS
OPTIMISM FOR PROGRESS AGAINST CORRUPTION


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) Summary. Leading Romanian civil society
representatives expressed cautious optimism about anti-
corruption efforts under newly elected President Traian
Basescu during a February 2 Embassy sponsored roundtable
discussion. Corruption remains a top concern for most
Romanians according to opinion polls. While acknowledging
the many challenges to stamping out corruption in Romania,
participants offered a variety of ideas to fight corruption,
but highlighted Basescu's apparent "political will" and EU
pressure as positive forces pushing anti-corruption efforts
forward. Civil society representatives cited public
administration reform and greater public participation in
the political process as key ingredients for long-term
success. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Leading Romanian civil society organizations,
along with representatives from the OECD and UK and U.S.
embassies discussed Romania's ongoing anti-corruption
efforts during a February 2 roundtable sponsored by U.S.
Embassy Bucharest's Resident Legal Advisor. Participating
organizations included those at the forefront of Romanian
civil society's efforts to educate the public on the impact
of corruption and to press the GOR to take needed action.
They included Transparency International, the Open Society
Foundation, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Council of
Foreign Investors and the American Bar Association Central
European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI).
Influential Romanian think tanks included the Romanian
Academic Society and the Institute for Public Policy.
Leading local grassroots democracy organizations present
included Pro Democracy, the Romanian Association for
Democracy Implementation, and the Romanian Center for
Independent Journalism.

A Question of Political Will?
--------------

3. (SBU) Overall, participants agreed that the new Liberal-
Democratic (PNL-PD) led government, coupled with President
Basescu's outspoken public stance against corruption,

provides a catalyst for renewing Romania's battle against
corruption. While many remarked that the previous
government demonstrated little "political will" to fight
corruption, most participants agreed that Basescu and his
team -- at least at the beginning of their administration --
appear committed to taking serious, actionable measures to
counter corruption. Some of the Government's initial steps
include Basescu's designation of anti-corruption efforts as
a "national security priority," plans to more strictly
review dignitaries' declarations of wealth through
establishment of a National Integrity Council, and the
January 27 decision to scrap immunity privileges for former
ministers (see paragraph 10). Participants noted that a
major challenge for the new government will be to sustain
this energy and focus over time and to resist the temptation
to focus anti-corruption efforts solely against the
opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD). Basescu has
expressed a commitment to "political neutrality" in the anti-
corruption battle. Civil Society representatives at the
roundtable expressed an intention to hold Basescu, Prime
Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and others now in
government accountable for keeping that promise.


4. (SBU) Transparency International and Pro Democracy also
highlighted EU criticism against Romania on corruption as a
powerful motivating force to spur GOR action. One UK
Embassy representative noted that external pressure from the
EU is now coupled with internal pressure driven by President
Basescu's designation of anti-corruption efforts as a
"national security priority." He opined that Basescu's
government needs several "quick wins" to set the tone and
improve public perception, while acknowledging that the real
battle against entrenched corruption in Romania is a long-
term process.

GOR Anti-Corruption Strategy: More than Good Intentions?
-------------- --------------

5. (SBU) Romania's 2005-2007 National Anti-Corruption
Strategy, slated for release in March, emerged as a focal
point for the discussion. This strategy, which follows up
on the largely unimplemented 2001-2004 Anti-Corruption
program, is designed to serve as both a framework and action
plan for the government's anti-corruption policies. ABA-
CELI Madeleine Crohn noted that the strategy also ties in
closely with the EU accession "safeguard clause," which
calls for an independent audit of the current anti-
corruption strategy no later than March 2005, along with a
multi-year strategy, including clearly defined benchmarks
and goals. Failure to meet these requirements ostensibly
could delay Romania's EU entry by one year. Critics of the
National Anti-Corruption Strategy, such as the local
Transparency International representative, pointed out that
rolling out a new 2005-2007 strategy may create a false
impression of progress, given the lack of implementation and
follow through found in many of the 2001-2004 goals.


6. (SBU) Many roundtable participants viewed the strategy
development process, led by the Ministry of Justice, as
inadequate, given that many stakeholders were not included
in the initial consultations process. A representative from
the OECD Anti-corruption Office expressed concern over the
MOJ's basic lack of internal capacity to develop such a wide-
reaching strategy, noting that only five employees work in
the department charged with developing and drafting the
National Anti-Corruption Strategy. She opined that the
concept of consulting with various civil society, business
and government leaders to develop an effective program is a
relatively new concept in Romania, complicated by the fact
that communication between government agencies is often less
than ideal.


7. (SBU) Other participants raised fundamental concerns
about developing a National Anti-Corruption strategy,
questioning its "value added." They also noted two key
elements lacking in the 2001-2004 National Anti-Corruption
Strategy: clear performance indicators and accountability,
although many believed steps to correct these deficiencies
were underway in the 2005-2007 Strategy. Participants
across the board agreed that stakeholders, including
government agencies, civil society and the business
community, need a strong political signal from the
government to push them to implement. A national anti-
corruption publicity campaign also could advance these
efforts, according to participants.

Proposed Steps against Corruption
--------------

8. (SBU) Civil society representatives highlighted the
critical need for increased public participation in the
political process to improve public officials'
accountability and crack down on corruption. Streamlining
and increasing accountability in Romania's public
administration system also emerged as a top priority.
According to the Transparency International representative,
weakness in the Romanian public administration system is a
catalyst for corruption. The overly bureaucratic system
presents numerous opportunities for bribery, while providing
few checks or sanctions on official misconduct. Building on
this perception, ABA-CEELI noted that a step as simple as a
paper reduction act could significantly increase
accountability and efficiency in the public administration
system. Several participants advocated consolidating the
twenty-six agencies charged with investigating compliance
with government regulations into a more streamlined entity
as a means to stamp out excessive bureaucracy.


9. (SBU) On the legislative front, the UK Customs advisor
recommended reforming customs legislation to reduce
ambiguities in penalties and fines, which open the door for
negotiated payments and bribery, and establishing a code of
conduct for tax officers. Several participants advocated
creating a broad anti-corruption working group, comprised of
government and non-government officials, to monitor
implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy. Others,
including the UK Advisor to the Ministry of Interior
supported the idea of a strategic committee to monitor and
report on National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (PNA)
activity as means to improve effectiveness in developing and
implementing Romania's anti-corruption strategy.

National Integrity Council: A Step Forward?
--------------

10. (SBU) Transparency International and other civil
society organizations applauded the government's recent
decision to create a National Integrity Council charged with
verifying dignitaries' property and wealth declarations, as
well as the January 27 decision scrapping immunity
privileges protecting former cabinet members from
prosecution. Participants agreed that these measures pave
the way for stepped-up action against high-level corruption.
The Romanian Center for Independent Journalism cited recent
MOJ pledges to remove libel from the criminal code as an
encouraging sign, noting that fear of prosecution often
hindered journalists' ability to publish articles concerning
corruption.

Anti Corruption Prosecutor's Office: An Absence of Oversight
-------------- --------------

11. (SBU) Roundtable participants agreed that the National
Anti- Corruption Prosecutor's Office (PNA) could become a
powerful engine for combating high-level corruption.
However, several fundamental changes, including in the
willingness of individual prosecutors to pursue politically
sensitive cases, are needed for the PNA to meet its true
potential. Civil society representatives were divided over
the benefits of amending legislation to provide
parliamentary oversight of the PNA. Nevertheless, a general
consensus emerged that current oversight of the PNA was
inadequate, and contributed to public skepticism about the
PNA's commitment to impartial investigations. One
participant suggested creating a review board that
periodically assessed PNA actions and reported to
parliament. The assessment would focus on individual cases
rather than PNA efficiency generally. In conjunction with
concerns about oversight, participants expressed a
corresponding concern with the impact of the management
procedures used in Romanian prosecutors offices generally.
This concern includes two components: First, as
magistrates, Romanian prosecutors are subject to the
separate judicial body (the Superior Council of Magistrates
or SCM) for many issues related to the evaluation and
promotion of their staff; second, there is an overemphasis
on jurisdictional boundaries to control what are essentially
managerial decisions effecting prosecutorial policies and
priorities. In short, although the management of
prosecutorial institutions like the PNA can be criticized,
there is a need to recognize the limitations placed on
managers through legislation and governing bodies such as
the SCM.


12. (SBU) The civil society representatives present summed
up by stating that they would continue monitoring
implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
They also urged U.S. and UK representatives to continue
advocating tough anti-corruption measures with Romanian
government.

Comment
--------------

13. (SBU) Corruption remains a top issue for the Romanian
public. Indeed, a November 2004 opinion poll showed it
topped the list of voter concerns, with 52 percent of
respondents stating that corruption plays a role in their
daily lives. The issue was one of the key contributors to
Basescu's December electoral victory, as his party alliance
was perceived as more committed to combating corruption and
much less tainted by corruption allegations than the then
ruling PSD. Post agrees with the roundtable's assessment
that Basescu and the Tariceanu government have started out
strong on corruption, at least in terms of expressed
intentions. It is now incumbent on the new leadership to
follow through by implementing key reforms, changing
attitudes in an entrenched bureaucracy, and removing the
battle on corruption from the sphere of partisan politics.
Civil society organizations and the U.S. Embassy have played
essential roles in elevating the issue of corruption as a
national concern. We will continue to engage the Government
and cooperate with NGOs and other interested parties on this
issue.


14. (U) AmEmbassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are
available on the Bucharest SIPRNET Website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest.

DELARE