Romanian prime minister accuses EU of double standards

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă accused Western European leaders of double standards in criticizing her country over corruption and a crackdown on anti-government protests.

Dăncilă, whose government holds the EU's rotating presidency, said corruption is also a problem in Western Europe and noted there had been no outcry among EU leaders when French riot police clashed with protesters from the Yellow Jackets movement.

The prime minister's remarks reflect tensions between Eastern and Western governments in the EU, which have heightened in recent years and threaten to make finding common ground among the bloc's leaders increasingly difficult.

“Romania is not allowed what other countries are allowed to do,” Dăncilă said in an interview with POLITICO at the Victoria Palace, a grandiose building housing the government in central Bucharest.

Romania has faced growing criticism from the European Commission and the European Parliament in recent months, reflecting a view that the Eastern European country is backsliding in the fight against corruption and heading down the same illiberal path as Poland and Hungary.

"It’s a double standard. I didn’t see anyone come to the European Parliament and say ‘We want a resolution on France'" — Viorica Dăncilă

Critics accuse the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) of trying to push through legal changes to weaken the independence of the judiciary and help politicians accused of corruption, including senior PSD officials such as party chief Liviu Dragnea.

The government has faced such criticism from at home from activists and President Klaus Iohannis, a former leader of the National Liberal party and longtime opponent of the Social Democrats who tried to stop the firing of the country's top anti-corruption prosecutor last year. But the international condemnation seems to have stung the most.

In October, Dăncilă clashed at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans over rule of law in Romania. A month later, the Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern about the country’s direction in the fight against corruption and condemned the “violent and disproportionate police intervention” during a massive anti-government protest in August that left hundreds of people wounded.

Dăncilă, seated at a table in a large reception room whose elegance contrasts with more run-down parts of the palace, said her country is not treated equally within the EU.

“I saw what happened with the Yellow Jackets in France,” she said, referring to the massive street protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s policies which also resulted in violence. “No one had any reaction. It’s a double standard. I didn’t see anyone come to the European Parliament and say ‘We want a resolution on France.’”

The prime minister, flanked by the Romanian and EU flags, also pushed back against comparisons between her government and those in Budapest and Warsaw, both of which are in the midst of EU censure proceedings over accusations they are breaching the bloc's fundamental values.

It’s a comparison that Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal ALDE group in the European Parliament, has repeatedly made. In the October debate on Romania, he warned Dăncilă not to follow “the bad Hungarian and Polish examples."

Dăncilă, who took office just over a year ago, said Verhofstadt's remarks show he is already in campaign mode ahead of May's European Parliament election. “If he understands that he needs to lead this election campaign to the detriment of Romania and accuse a state like Romania, I don’t think it’s a constructive way to work,” said Dăncilă, a former member of the European Parliament.

Special treatment
Dăncilă also said it’s unfair that her country and Bulgaria are the only ones subject to anti-corruption monitoring through a yearly report from the European Commission.

Both Romania and Bulgaria had to sign up to the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which monitors and helps implement judicial reforms to combat corruption, when they joined the European Union in 2007.

“It’s said that this mechanism is meant to help Romania and Bulgaria,” Dăncilă said. “It talks about corruption. I’ve seen very big acts of corruption also in Holland, I saw them in France, I saw them in Germany. No one ever asked for the introduction of such a mechanism.”

In its latest report in November, Brussels slammed Bucharest hard, accusing it of backtracking on progress it has made over the last years. The Commission asked Romania to revise laws meant to reform the judicial system and criminal code and appoint a new anti-corruption prosecutor.

“To solve certain issues I don’t think you need to put someone in a corner or point the finger at them" — Viorica Dăncilă

Brussels also expressed concerns last month over a planned emergency decree meant to give some people, including politicians, the right to a potential retrial based on disagreements over how judges at the country’s highest court of appeal were appointed in 2014.

Critics say PSD is trying to give a helping hand to convicted politicians. Dăncilă said the move is necessary to give people the opportunity of a fair trial.

Asked whether she will follow the recommendations in the Commission's report, Dăncilă said some of them would breach the constitution but her government is open to adopting others.

Dăncilă described herself as “a convinced pro-European” and said she will talk with European leaders in the coming days to reassure them about the state of democracy and rule of law in Romania. She will meet European Council President Donald Tusk this Thursday.

“To solve certain issues I don’t think you need to put someone in a corner or point the finger at them — the others need to come to support you to solve these issues,” Dăncilă said.