December 18 (SeeNews) - Romania still faces threats to justice independence and widespread bribery, a report issued by German foundation for liberal politics Friedrich Naumann Foundation shows.
"Romania's judiciary has become more independent since the country became a full member of the EU in 2007, especially after 2013. But, in spite of the sophisticated election procedures meant to prevent direct political influence on courts, the latter is indirectly still very much present," the Europe Edition of Freedom Barometer published by German foundation for liberal politics Friedrich Naumann Foundation reads.
Romania has made significant progress in fighting corruption since 2007, but the bribery rate is still very high - at 29%, according to the Global Corruption Barometer 2016. The report is based on data covering the 12 month-period between July 2016 and June 2017.
Romanians have now been protesting for a seventh Sunday in a row against planned changes to the Criminal Code that they see as an attempt to weaken the fight against corruption. People protest against plans by the Social Democrat-led government coalition to appoint Romania's chief prosecutor without the consent of the president.
In other aspects, Romania is either stationary or on an upward path of action, the study showed.
The report found that the environment in which elections are held in Romania is on a track of improvement, with last parliamentary elections, held in December 2016, considered largely as free and fair. "Measures taken so as to reduce irregularities by improving monitoring of the voting procedures have led to progress in this regard."
Regarding the freedom of the press, analysts said that journalist independence and professionalism are often hindered by managerial or economic pressure, which made them practicing self-censorship. "Media moguls have big influence is shaping public opinion and their ties with political elites often led to partisan reporting, which remained the biggest problem on media scene in Romania," the report found.
Although freedom of assembly, association or expression is fairly well respected in Romania, the legislation is quite unclear about rallies, allowing officers to fine incommode anti-government protesters. Also, the country is still faced with Roma discrimination, intolerance towards sexual minorities and same-sex marriage and domestic violence, the study said.
Regarding the economic environment, the study found that business regulation in Romania is mostly favourable towards business activities. "Regulation could also prove as unclear and prone to divergent conclusions, while government bureaucracy is not considered as efficient. Starting a new business is relatively easy and inexpensive, with low minimum capital requirements, but these procedures have been made more burdensome with the new process of VAT application."
The total score of 68.19 points which includes 10 subcategories places the country at 12th place after Slovenia.
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