OSCE PA Second Committee Chair Nilza SenaCOPENHAGEN, 2 February 2017 – In response to an executive decree adopted late Tuesday night by the Romanian government that relaxes criminal punishments for charges of abuse of power and conflicts of interest, the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s economic and environmental committee, Portuguese parliamentarian Nilza Sena, said today that Romania must not backslide in the fight against corruption.

“The decree issued by authorities in Bucharest represents a setback for the rule of law in Romania, potentially undermining the progress made by Romanian prosecutors and judges in combating corruption,” Sena said. “Anti-corruption efforts must be strengthened, not weakened, and toward this end I urge the Romanian government to repeal this controversial decree.”

The emergency decree adopted by the Romanian government, justified as a measure to prevent prison overcrowding, decriminalizes allegations of graft involving less than 200,000 Romanian Leu (44,000 EUR). Critics have contended that the decree seeks to protect ruling party members currently on trial for corruption offences or those who have already been convicted, leading to some of the largest street demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989.

Sena noted that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has repeatedly called for greater efforts among OSCE participating States to combat corruption and strengthen the rule of law. In its most recent Declaration, adopted last summer in Tbilisi, the PA called for “democratic and legal accountability in order to address corruption and ensure greater political integrity,” and stressed that corruption contributes to global threats “such as terrorism, transnational organized crime, as well as to illicit economic activities.”

Sena was elected Chair of the OSCE PA’s General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment at the Tbilisi Annual Session on 4 July 2016.