Following Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta's visit to Brussels to meet with EU leaders, Hannes Swoboda, President of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, expressed his support for the European Commission's analysis of the recent developments in Romania. Commission President Barroso asked Mr Ponta to respect the full independence of the judiciary and guarantee transparent procedures for key state appointments.

 

"We welcome the meeting of European Commission President Barroso and Prime Minister Ponta and support the Commission's recommendations to the Romanian government and parliament.

 

"We have confidence in the assurances Prime Minister Ponta has given in his meetings in Brussels. He has committed to undertaking the necessary steps to guarantee the independence of the judicial system."

 

 

"I hope that all political parties and forces in Romania will try to find cross-party consensus on the implementation of the Commission's recommendations.

 

"As I have already stated in recent days, the S&D Group has a zero-tolerance policy towards violations of European rights and values. We invite the other political groups to follow the same line, irrespective of nationality or political affiliation."

 

 

"The first European Parliament plenary session after the summer will be a good opportunity to review the situation in Romania. All responsible political groups must show their objectivity in evaluating the developments in Romania in recent years.

 

"It is necessary that all groups in the European Parliament take a responsible approach and support the Commission's evaluation as well as the Romanian government's efforts to undertake the required steps.

 

 

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