ROMANIA: Romania's prime minister, Mr Adrian Nastase, said yesterday that he would dismiss his justice minister next week after the European Union complained of slow judicial reforms in preparation for EU membership.
Analysts said that the move was largely cosmetic and that the ex-communist state would have to do more to show that it is heeding the EU's warning to push ahead with radical reforms or miss its target date of joining by 2007.
A government official said that the justice minister, Mr Rodica Stanoiu, would be replaced by the deputy foreign minister, Mr Cristian Diaconescu, a 44-year-old former judge.
"This is because of criticism from the European Union that reforms in our justice system have been slow," said the official, who declined to be named.
The European Parliament told Romania last month that it would have to focus its accession preparations on real reform of the justice system and cleaning up corruption, which is a deterrent to foreign investment in the impoverished country of 22 million people.
Judges must be freed from control by the justice minister and appointments, promotions and disciplinary measures must be decided by an independent panel of peers, the EU says.
- (Reuters)