EU Says Romania Urgently Needs to Put Reforms Back on Track

(Bloomberg) -- The European Commission told Romania that the government must “urgently” get the country’s reform drive back on track.

The commission, the European Union executive, “is following with great concern the latest developments concerning the rule of law in Romania,” commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

“Both the content and the procedure of the latest changes -- using emergency ordinances without any consultations with the judiciary and stakeholders -- seem to be in direct contradiction with the recommendations of the commission under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism,” he said.

“Romania needs to very urgently put the reform effort back on track,” Schinas said. “This means going forwards not backwards, and abstaining from any steps that reverse the progress accomplished over the past years. The commission will seek clarifications from the Romanian government on these latest changes,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jones Hayden in Brussels at jhayden1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Jones Hayden

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