The National Integrity Agency (ANI) maintained its results in the management of asset declarations and cases of conflicts of interest, according to the European Commission's 2024 Report on the rule of law, published on Wednesday.
The Commission's experts stress the fact that ''ANI manages to maintain its results of the last years.The number of finalised cases has remained relatively constant. ANI identified a record amount of unjustified wealth of over EUR 6 million. The low salaries are considered an obstacle to attract
competent staff and ANI continues to advocate for a rise in the salaries of inspectors."
Moreover, the European Commission appreciates that the number of integrity warnings issued by the PREVENT System has continued to remain stable over the last four years. In this sense, the report recalls the fact that, in October 2023, the PREVENT System identified a potential conflict of interest in a public procurement procedure worth approximately EUR 1.4 billion.
The document also notes that the Agency fulfills the role of an external reporting channel - competent authority to receive reports in the public interest.
At the same time, during 2023, ANI provided advice and established and maintained relationships with relevant stakeholders.
Next, the report states that, starting from January 2024, ANI no longer accepts declarations signed by hand, an aspect that reduces the risk of errors. However, despite the awareness measures carried out in previous years, there are still public institutions that have not ensured electronic signatures.
The report emphasizes that the Agency is responsible for verifying and publishing the declarations, and with the amendment of Law no. 176/2010 of December 2023, the income of public officials can no longer be anonymized. These provisions do not apply to persons who do not have the obligation to submit asset declarations, such as the spouse of a public official who works in the private sector.
European experts underline the fact that National Integrity Council (CNI) guarantees the Agency's independence and monitors its performance. In this sense, the report recalls ANI's appeal to the Senate regarding the prevention of the indirect formation of a majority of the same political affiliation within the National Integrity Council. Furthermore, the report highlights the fact that, in 2023, a member of the National Integrity Council was evaluated by the ANI, and then revoked by the Senate. This was followed by accusations in the media against ANI.
The Commission's report notes that the proposal to update and codify the legal integrity framework was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and, according to the commitments assumed by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, it should enter into force by the end of 2024. However, European Commission experts reiterate that the proposal is limited to conflicts of interest, incompatibilities and unjustified wealth and does not cover other aspects of integrity.
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