Prosecutors Face Rigorous Vetting: No Resignations So Far
No employee of the prosecution office, who must pass the financial and ethical integrity test, has submitted a resignation request up until June 1.
This statement was made by the new General Prosecutor, Ion Munteanu, who was appointed today, after serving as interim for more than a year and a half. The head of the General Prosecutor's Office (PG) believes that his subordinates have understood the "essence" of the Vetting process.
"I am quite optimistic about this matter. As of today (ed. note: June 1), I have not received any resignation requests related to the external evaluation process, which makes me believe that prosecutors have understood the essence of this exercise. They are firm in their positions, and I believe they will be able to justify their financial and ethical integrity," said General Prosecutor Ion Munteanu.
At the end of 2023, Ion Munteanu, who was the interim General Prosecutor at that time, stated that the Prosecution risks entering a "total blockade" due to the Vetting process targeting prosecutors. He stated, during a broadcast on TV8, that according to the data he holds, around 50 percent of prosecutors are considering resigning from office just to avoid facing the evaluation commission.
"It is not the best atmosphere in the Prosecution when a prosecutor undergoing the Vetting process is vulnerable," stated Ion Munteanu in November last year.
The Vetting process involves the evaluation of over 200 prosecutors in key positions, as well as those aspiring to these positions. The verification of prosecutors is conducted based on a new law that mandates the evaluation of the ethical and financial integrity of all prosecutors who hold or have held key positions within the Prosecutor's Office system from January 1, 2017, to August 22, 2023. The first on the list are the head of the Anti Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Veronica Dragalin, and the interim deputies of the institution: Marcel Dumbravan, Octavian Iachimovschi, and Vasile Plevan. Furthermore, the evaluation of anti-corruption prosecutors has already begun..
In this context, the external evaluation was also criticised earlier by the head of the Anti Corruption Prosecutor's Office. Veronica Dragalin recently stated to the press that she has some "reservations" regarding the Vetting process that she and prosecutors from across the country will have to undergo if they wish to remain in office. The head of the Anti Corruption Prosecutor's Office did not rule out that more of her subordinates could leave the system when they are notified that they must undergo the evaluation. In a televised broadcast at the end of May, the deputy head of the Anti Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Octavian Iachimovschi, stated that his colleagues are no longer determined to leave the system but, on the contrary, are ready to undergo the Vetting process because they have nothing to hide.
Failing to pass the external evaluation results in the release from office of the respective prosecutor. At the same time, they are deprived of the right to serve as a prosecutor or hold other public office for 5-7 years.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
