Introduction

The National Anticorruption Strategy (hereinafter “NAS”) 2016-2020, answering to the recommendations delivered by the international anti-corruptions initiatives that Romania is a party to or a participant, advanced a paradigm change in terms of the strategic approach for this sector. Thus, NAS 2016-202 included measures and objectives which should act against the deeper roots of corruption, as this approach did not limit itself to combating the above-mentioned phenomenon. The programming documents included a series of measures aimed at prevention of corruption, advancement of organizational integrity, anti-corruption education and, last but not least, recovery of proceeds of crime. 

Still, corruption represents a challenge at national and regional level even if, on a strategic level, it is the criminal behaviour that was most often and in the most consistent manner the subject of penal policies in Romania, starting from 2001. This phenomenon affects society in the most varied ways, as it is able to lead to negative consequences in both the economic, as well as the social life of citizens. In this respect, one was able to notice that, in certain instances, corruption has affected the life, physical integrity, trust in relation to state institutions as well as citizens’ property.

Corruption remains a motivation able to limit the development outlook for Romania and its ability to advance foreign policy objectives, including the image of Romania in the international arena. Also, corruption affects the efficiency and professionalism of public institutions and authorities, especially from the perspective of providing services of general interest and this generates a low level of trust among citizens in the state’s ability to manage social relations. The causes of corruption are multiple ones and the issue of prevention and combating corruption is included in the scope of work of a number of Romanian institutions, which have to cooperate in order to achieve a sense of synergy in their activities advancing the integrity topic.

From the Romanian private business environment perspective, one may find that some developments have been made in terms of promoting integrity in the business world, especially within the public companies; however, additional progress could be recorded, through a close cooperation with the public institutions and authorities, which could bring an impetus to the initiatives to advance integrity in the private sector. Corruption is no deal-breaker in day-to-day business operations due to the entrepreneurs’ misconception according to which corruption is allegedly needed in Romania in order to implement some contracts. 

An additional challenge for the authorities is caused by the role of corruption as a facilitator of organized crime groups. Therefore, this strategy includes a specific objective aimed at an integrated approach of corruption and organized crime, as the threshold between corruption and organized crime exists only at a formal – conceptual level, for reasons of a systemic and consistent approach from a legal and institutional point. 

Also, the consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic should be assessed by the competent public authorities and institutions in order to be properly managed. A number of international organizations working in the anti-corruption sector have drawn attention to the current challenges for transparency, public procurement (especially in the health sector), the integrity of public order and safety bodies and the supply of medical assistance.

The National Strategy of Defense for 2020-2024 (hereinafter SNApT 2020-2024) confirms the level of commitment from Romanian authorities for the defence of the rule of law and democracy, independence of justice and the fight against corruption, while also underlining the negative systemic effects generated by corruption at national level.

According to the section on Romania included in the 2020 Rule of Law Report issued by the European Commission, Romania has a comprehensive national strategic framework in the field of anti-corruption, based on a wide participation from institutional stakeholders at national and local level. Despite the progress made by Romania during the last decade in the field of anti-corruption, the challenges that the judicial system was faced with during 2017-2019 have questioned the sustainability of anti-corruption reforms. The importance of supporting NAS implementation by the policy makers has been constantly claimed by the European Commission (hereinafter COM) in the reports issued for the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (hereinafter CVM).

Consequently, the commitment by the policy makers towards a national anti-corruption agenda and, respectively, towards avoiding any interference with the institutional and legislative framework in the field of anti-corruption is paramount. Also, there is a need to strengthen the assessment of risks and vulnerabilities to corruption, the correlation and effectiveness of mechanisms for prevention, education and combating corruption that the Romanian state is able to mobilize, respectively to strengthen inter-institutional dialogue and cooperation as part of an integrated strategic framework.

The current strategy shall maintain the approach used by the previous strategies, which prioritized preventive measures in those sectors exposed to corruption. The sparse progress recorded by prevention activities during 2016-2020 has resulted in maintaining the sectors identified as priorities in the previous version of the strategy, while adding to these the areas of environmental protection and cultural heritage protection and removing the judicial system from the category of priority areas. 

This version of the strategy has been drafted as a result of a broad consultation process with the public sector, as well as with the civil society and the business environment in Romania. Thus, NAS delivers a snapshot of the presence of this phenomenon at national level and, simultaneously, of the national response capacity and also an integrated vision, that has been harmonized at inter-institutional level in terms of the missions and objectives that need to be undertaken by the key institutions tasked to cover this area, including general, specific objectives and key actions, customized depending on the legal authorities of each institution and the specifics of priority areas. NAS focuses on fine-tuning the mechanisms for cooperation in order to achieve results as effective as possible in advancing integrity and in the fight against corruption. In terms of the timeline, the proposed approach is aimed at 2021-2025.