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EC warns: the amendments of the parliament to the Administrative Code endanger the efforts of professionalization of the civil servants
The European Commission warns that the amendments of the parliament to the administrative code endanger the efforts of professionalization of the civil servants and annul the previous steps made in this sense. The Commission also shows in a point of view given to G4Media.ro that the failure to comply with the committed obligations by Romania ( ex-ante) is the reason for suspension of the payments from European funds. Practically, Romania risks to lose the financial allocation of the programme for the period 2014 – 2020 namely 553.19 million euro.
It is reminded that in the recommendations made to each country in 2017 there is focus on the necessity to ‘ adopt legislation which should ensure a professional public service and independent one, by the implementation of objective criteria’ and the report of 2018 estimated that there was limited progress. According to the commission, conditionality ex-ante cannot be considered as achieved, as the progress made in the reform of the public administration is reduced and depends on the final version of the administrative code.
‘Although we acknowledge the previous commitment of the government to continue the effective implementation of the reform of the public administration and the progress made in cooperation with the services of the commission, we stay worried in connection with the latest evolution and the regress of the priority of the reform. The latest amendments proposed in the parliament for the administrative code annul the previous efforts made by the government of Romania and the relevant measures taken in the context of conditionality ex-ante for public administration, warns the European Commission which says that the amendments proposed endanger the efforts of professionalization of the public service and reduce the attributions of the National Agency of Civil Servants, the institution which was in the centre of the reform.
The European Commission says that ‘ the delay in the achievement of the reform of the public service has, similarly, a negative impact on the capacity of the administration to exploit the opportunities offered by the EU funds’.
The European executive mentions that, in conformity with the article 19 (5) and art.142 (1)(e) of the Regulation (EU) no.1303/2013, the non-achievement of the actions necessary for the implementation of the ex-ante condition is a reason to suspend the payments in the programmes which are affected. ‘ The area of the suspension must be proportional, taking into consideration the actions which must be achieved and the funds in a risky situation’ the press release says.
EC expresses the hope that the final text of the administrative code will reflect the commitments taken by the Romanian government.