Head prosecutor Daniel Morar had served in the position for three years, earning praise from the European Commission (EC) for trying to investigate graft allegations against former senior government officials, including former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. Romania’s Constitutional Court later ruled that investigations must be approved by parliament, which then denied Morar’s requests. Politicians from the ruling Liberal Party, however, sought Morar’s removal when his term expired, saying his investigations were politically motivated.
An EC monitoring report last month accused Romania of dragging its feet in fighting corruption at senior levels, blaming parliament for blocking prosecutors’ investigations.
Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu appointed Monica Stefanescu, a prosecutor at the country’s Supreme Court of Justice, to the position the same day. Stefanescu has worked as a criminal prosecutor since 1990. Predoiu said during a news conference that he hoped the EC would note progress in its next report and hoped that by 2009 the European bloc would no longer be monitoring Romania.
Later last week, the Romanian parliament rejected a request by prosecutors to investigate more allegations against former Prime Minister Nastase. Prosecutors wanted to find out how Nastase acquired property in the capital Bucharest during his mandate from 2000 to 2004. Parliament voted 150 to 120 to block the case, which needs parliamentary approval under Romanian law.
