Romanian government to dismiss Prosecutor General
The Romanian government wants to remove Prosecutor General Augustin Lazăr from office. Justice Minister Tudorel Toader accused him on Wednesday of abusing his powers. Lazăr is the last independent chief prosecutor of the three public prosecutors, after the other two were forced to leave office. President Klaus Iohannis has the last say. Would his dismissal be justified?
All the facts justify removal
The pro-government daily Jurnalul National sees the dismissal of Prosecutor General Augustin Lazăr as justified:
“He was never the prosecutor general of Romania, but the prosecutor general of the parallel state. Lazăr signed secret agreements with the [domestic intelligence agency] SRI even after the Constitutional Court had prohibited its conducting bugging operations. He snapped at the Justice Minister; he hampered the judicial legislation; he calmly lied to international institutions; he disrupted investigations against public prosecutors who abused their power. Is that enough or are more facts needed to justify his removal?”
Brussels can no longer close its eyes
If the EU fails to act it will violate its own principles, writes the news portal Ziare:
“Can the EU Commission close its eyes to these latest attacks, bearing in mind that what is happening in Romania is far worse than in Hungary and Poland? In those countries the conflict focuses above all on differences of opinion. Here it's about law-breakers who want to save their skins. Under such circumstances how can the EU Commission not pass a resolution regarding this government that is riding roughshod over the Romanian people and which openly defies the EU? If it doesn't, that would be tantamount to reneging on its own institutions and principles, and ultimately itself.”