US diplomat A. Rupp: Romania must continue anti-corruption fight

Romania must continue the anti-corruption fight, in order to attract investors, Deputy Chief of the US Diplomatic Mission in Romania, Abigail Rupp, said during a conference organized by Citadel think-tank of the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj.

Over the recent years, economic and trade relations between Romania and the US have accelerated, US diplomat said, adding that further development depends of the respect for the rule of law and for the rules on public transparency.

Abigail Rupp: "When we are asked what is the best thing to do to increase the value of US investments, we say that the fight against corruption must continue. We noted that last year, the Romanian public became less tolerant of corruption and I think we need to work together to encourage public institutions to continue to progress in this area".

Abigail Rupp expressed concern about the fact that draft laws promoted in Parliament could affect the independence of the Judiciary.

Abigail Rupp: "We support the independence of the Judiciary, a field where Romania has matured over the past 15 years.

As you may have seen from previous positions of the US Embassy, we are worried that changes in the draft laws discussed in Parliament may affect the independence of the Judiciary. We do not want to say that Romania and its Parliament should not change laws as they see fit, as any sovereign nation should of course do.

What worries us is that some of these legislative changes can affect the independence of Justice".

Abigail Rupp reminded that the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US also has positive economic consequences. In 2016, Romania exported goods worth more than $ 2 billion, and in 2017 US imports increased by 40%.

Abigail Rupp also said members of the US Congress supported US $ 2 billion in direct investment by US companies and set the United States on the 6th place in the ranking of foreign investors in Romania.

The Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce has come to group over 400 companies that support 250,000 jobs, the US diplomat said.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei