Top EU official fears EU presidency is too much for Romania

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top justice official on Friday voiced fears that Romania will struggle to manage the EU’s presidency next year while it is weighed down by domestic concerns, notably corruption.

Romania takes over the EU’s agenda-setting presidency from Austria in January for six months. But the country’s own justice system has long been under special EU monitoring due to rampant corruption.

EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said Friday that “the independence of Romania’s judicial system and its capacity to fight corruption effectively are of paramount importance for us.”

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She noted that running the EU presidency “is a very demanding discipline” and that Romania’s “situation in justice and prosecution is the complicating factor, which I have concerns about.”

It is rare for senior EU officials to publicly express doubts about an incoming presidency.

Romania’s left-wing government embarked on a contentious judicial overhaul when it came to power in 2016, sparking protests and criticism from the EU, the U.S. and others who said it would roll back efforts to fight high-level corruption.

Romania’s justice minister this week called for the firing of the prosecutor general, Augustin Lazar, accusing him in a 20-page report of exceeding his authority. The move provoked concerns that the Romanian government was seeking to exert more political control over the judiciary. Lazar supports the fight against government corruption.