Protest to save the rule of law in Romania
Protest to save the rule of law in Romania
Bucharest, 5 March 2023 – Agent Green, Bankwatch, Corupția Ucide, Dăruiește Viață, Declic, Eco-Civica, Greenpeace and Inițiativa România protested on Saturday, 4 March, in Bucharest’s Piața Victoriei against a legislative package that threatens to dismantle the principles of the rule of law in general and moves towards dismantling environmental protection legislation, in breach of both European treaties and Romania’s Constitution. The organisations were supported by public figures at the protest, including actor Tudor Chirilă.
VIDEO from the protest for free download and distribution: https://vimeo.com/agentgreen/protest4martie2023
Tudor Chirilă, an actor taking part in the protest: “You seem to be afraid of protests, since you want to criminalise them with imprisonment by changing the law so that any spontaneous protest can land people in prison. I protest when my vote is no longer valid, no longer confirmed by those I sent there, which has been happening for a long time. The moment you take away this last weapon of mine, it means we are heading more towards Putin’s Russia. Those standing on the sidelines should think carefully: they may need to protest too, for things other than those we are protesting about, and they may no longer be able to do so.”
Mihaela Brebinaru Gheorghe, Declic organiser: “We came today to protest for our right to continue protesting. Romania’s two plagiarists have submitted a law saying that peaceful protesters should pay with up to 7 years in prison.”
Ioana Ciută, president of Bankwatch: “There are three legislative amendments that simultaneously restrict the rights to free expression, association and justice. This package of laws must be withdrawn if we still want to live in a democracy in Romania.”
Gabriel Păun, president of Agent Green: “A few small people temporarily in power are trampling on the sacrifice of many generations of great people. The political hacks cannot carry this legislative package through, because the European institutions we have already informed will cut off all Romania’s funds. Even if they have anaesthetised the vast majority of society with stupidity and terror, they cannot shut down the minds and voices of those of us taking a stand today. Tomorrow we will be more numerous and stronger.”
Oana Gheorghiu, founder of the Dăruiește Viață Association: “For years, NGOs have been a thorn in politicians’ sides, especially those pursuing their own personal or group interests, those who do not want transparency, who do not want people to find out about the abuses, illegalities and fraud taking place in government or various public institutions. Those politicians for whom sick or hungry children do not matter much, or at any rate matter less than their peace of mind, disturbed, it seems, by ‘dangerous’ NGOs. The legislative amendments about to be approved are intended to intimidate NGOs and those who lead them, to limit their right to bring court actions and protest – in other words, they are designed to make them give up.”
Diana Voicu, president of Inițiativa România: “We are witnessing a barrage of coordinated legislative measures that the PSD-PNL government is trying to implement to silence civil society: those who are and have been a thorn in its side, protesting against and challenging illegalities in all aspects of government. We categorically oppose these illiberal manoeuvres. We do, after all, live in democratic Europe, not Russia!”
Angi Șerban, vice-president of Corupția Ucide: “We have reached a paradox: we go out to protest so that we can still go out to protest in the not-too-distant future, in a democratic system. The current governing configuration, hardly something new, seems to be preparing something for us, given that it is firing on civil society and constitutional rights from all directions. We believe that now, more than ever, we need unity and a presence both on the streets and in civic life, because a fairly difficult election year, 2024, is approaching, with all four types of elections. Our intuition tells us that political decision-makers have big plans for the next legislature, and those plans do not favour civil society!”
Dan Trifu, vice-president of the Eco-Civica Foundation: “Here is the liberals’ logic: arrest the free expression of citizens and NGOs!”
The changes recently proposed in Parliament drastically limit civil society’s role, namely:
– access to justice, by imposing conditions that prevent court actions from being filed (a bond of up to 50,000 lei depending on the value of the works concerned by the action, and financial liability for members of the Board of Directors. The provisions also apply retroactively to ongoing litigation)[1]. Access to justice is also restricted by imposing forfeiture and limitation periods that run regardless of whether those harmed become aware of the unlawful content of building permits[2]
– access to funding, by limiting the possibility for citizens and companies to redirect the tax shares provided for by law to NGOs, a major source of funding. These are to be approved by ANAF on unclear criteria. At the same time, corporate donations to large organisations established by law are deductible. This leaves small, genuine NGOs unfunded, as such donations to them are not deductible[3].
– freedom of assembly and expression, by introducing prison sentences into the Criminal Code of 2 to 5 years for insulting or defaming state officials, and 2 to 7 years for offences against officials and disturbance of public order when committed by two or more people together (for example in the context of public gatherings)[4].
These restrictions on NGOs will prevent them from responding to the effects of other legislative changes eliminating environmental assessment procedures (for water bodies, plans and projects, and appropriate assessment) for projects with severe environmental effects in protected natural areas (hydropower plants, removing the requirement for a water-management endorsement before work starts), or limiting the time for issuing environmental agreements/endorsements, in breach of European law and the Aarhus Convention[5].
The protesting organisations call on Romania’s Government and Parliament to withdraw the entire legislative package, both the parts already adopted and those still being adopted.
Press contacts:
Cătălina Rădulescu, Agent Green lawyer, catalina@agentgreen.org, 0745138165
Diana Voicu, president of Inițiativa România, 0722572797
Ioana Ciută, Bankwatch, ioana.ciuta@bankwatch.org, 0724020281
Angi Șerban, Corupția Ucide, 0767311546
Notes
[1] L857/2022 amending and supplementing Government Ordinance no.26/2000 on associations and foundations – https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
[2] L 679/2022 amending and supplementing Law no.50/1991 on authorising construction works, amending and supplementing Law no.350/2001 on spatial and urban planning, and amending and supplementing Administrative Litigation Law no.554/2004 https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
[3] ANAF Order 1679/2022 – https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/259486
[4] B48/2023 Legislative proposal amending and supplementing Law no.286/2009 on the Criminal Code https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
[5] L742/2022 – Legislative proposal amending and supplementing art.(56 index 1) of Government Emergency Ordinance no.57/2007 on the regime of protected natural areas and the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna – https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
L743/2022 – Legislative proposal amending and supplementing art.(56 index 1) of Government Emergency Ordinance no.57/2007 on the regime of protected natural areas and the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna, https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
Emergency Ordinance 175/2022 establishing measures concerning investment objectives for hydropower developments under construction and other projects of major public interest using renewable energy, and amending and supplementing certain legislation https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/262509
L51/2023 Legislative proposal amending and supplementing Water Law no.107/1996 https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente – removal of water-management endorsements
L39/2023 Legislative proposal amending Water Law no.107/1996, as subsequently amended and supplemented https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente
L 351/2022 Legislative proposal supplementing article 33 of the Water Law no.107/1996 https://senat.ro/legis/lista.aspx#ListaDocumente, under which the right to exploit aggregate quarries will be granted directly by ANRM through extraction permits, excluding ANAR from the procedure and removing the obligation to hold an extraction licence
Emergency Ordinance 140/2022 on the single industrial licence – EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 140 19/10/2022 – Legislative Portal (just.ro) provides deadlines for issuing environmental regulatory acts that do not allow coherent environmental impact assessment procedures. It applies in all fields, including those covered by Annexes 1 and 2 of the EIA Directive transposed by Law 292/2018.
ORDER no.3.309/2022 amending the Procedure for applying the annual endorsement of environmental permits and integrated environmental permits, approved by Order of the Minister of Environment, Water and Forests no.1.150/2020 ORDER 3309 28/12/2022 – Legislative Portal (just.ro). The procedure, already inaccessible to the public, becomes a mere formality performed from an office
