Human Rights And The Protection Of Minorities assignment

少數民族的人權和保護權
 

為了符合候選國家的需求而設立的政策性準則，正如1993年六月哥本哈根歐洲委員會所規定的，其規定了這些國家必須取得“機構確保民主，法治，人權，尊重和保護少數民族的穩定性”。

民主和法治
 

羅馬尼亞已經實現了機構保障民主和法治的穩定性。

以下是過去一年最重要的發展。

議會

立法機關的效率有了很大的提高。在選舉前，立法機關由于執政聯盟的缺陷，完全無法正常運行了。新議會的第一法案就是改革兩院的運行，以加快立法進程。在參議院，變化包括了修訂立法，簡化程序，降低“掠奪”的機會。在下院的變化包括：
優先的法案會被更快地采納，包括與加入歐盟有關的法律。

一系列措施已被引用，為了提高行政和立法之間的關系。

總統，首相，以及兩院的議長之間的會議基本上一周開一次。

與議會相關的部長已被任命。
 

The political criteria for accession to be met by the candidate countries, as laid down by the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993, stipulate that these countries must have achieved “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.

 

Democracy and the rule of law

 

Romania has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy and the rule of law.

 

Hereunder are the most significant developments of the past year.

 

The parliament

 

The efficiency of the legislature has been improved considerably. Prior to the elections, the legislature had been effectively paralysed by the weakness of the ruling coalition. One of the first acts of the new Parliament was to reform the functioning of both houses in order to accelerate the legislative process. In the Senate changes included streamlined procedures for amending legislation, and reducing opportunities for “filibustering.” In the Chamber of Deputies the changes included an accelerated procedure for the adoption of priority legal acts including legislation related to EU accession.

 

A series of measures have also been introduced in order to improve the relationship between the legislature and the executive:

 

Meetings between the President, the Prime Minister, and the speakers of the two chambers take place on a weekly basis.

 

A Minister for Relations with Parliament has been appointed.

 

State Secretaries responsible for parliamentary relations have been appointed in all line-ministries.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

Taken together, these measures illustrate the importance given by the government to effective co-operation with Parliament. The combination of a government with a strong position in both houses and reformed parliamentary procedures has seen the number of laws adopted by Parliament increase significantly since the beginning of the year. Further, this has allowed the legislature to effectively process the backlog of some 700 draft legislative acts left over from the previous government. The improved functioning of Parliament has been matched by the government’s reduced reliance on ordinances and emergency ordinances as legislative instruments.

 

This said, legislation by ordinance remains too common and has frequently been used without a clear justification for bypassing parliamentary procedures. This is a concern because Parliament’s power to subsequently amend or reject legislation introduced by ordinance can result in legislative instability. A further concern is that parliament’s ability to carry out the essential function of scrutinising legislation remains limited.

 

The executive

 

Reforms made since the elections have significantly improved the functioning of government. Inter-ministerial co-operation has increased, as has the policy-making capacity of the administration. Progress has also been made with the decentralisation of powers to local government, although certain problems remain related to the implementation of reforms.

 

A remaining concern is the lack of progress in carrying out a strategic reform of the public administration. Since taking office at the beginning of the year, the new government has conducted an extensive overhaul of the executive. The number of ministers and ministries has been increased and all government agencies have been subordinated to ministries previously many of them were considered as independent bodies.

 

Bringing the agencies more closely into the structures of government has improved the cohesion of the administration. A positive development has been the particular emphasis placed upon re-enforcing the structures that are responsible for managing the accession process.

 

The judicial system

 

Romania has made considerable advances in reforming its judiciary over recent years. This process has continued over the reporting period and there has been progress with speeding up court procedures and the enforcement of judicial decisions. At the same time, additional reforms are still necessary and should include measures to further guarantee the independence of the judiciary and to develop a human resource policy for judges and supporting court staff. For instance a revised version of the Civil Procedure Code entered into force in April 2001. New procedures were introduced in order to speed up the operation of the courts and improve the enforcement of judicial decisions. Furthermore, Magistrates continue to rank amongst the best paid public officials, but a change in the wage policy means that this preference is being eroded , unlike other public employees, magistrates will not receive a wage adjustment in 2001 to compensate for inflation.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

Anti-corruption measures

 

Surveys and assessments conducted by both national and international organisations confirm that corruption remains a serious and widespread problem in Romania which affects almost all aspects of society. There has been no reduction in perceived levels of corruption and the number of successful prosecutions remains low, particularly for high-level corruption. The fight against corruption is hampered by integrity problems even within institutions that are involved in law enforcement and the fight against corruption.

 

In November 2003 the Council of Europe’s Civil and Criminal Law Conventions on Corruption entered into force. Significant changes to the framework of anti-corruption legislation were introduced in April 2004; Emergency Ordinance that decreased the financial threshold for wealth declarations decreased the value of gifts/hospitality that may be received by public officials and introduced stricter controls on share and property ownership for those covered by the legislation.

 

In general, Romanian anti-corruption legislation is well developed and is broadly in line with relevant EU acquis. Romania is not yet party to the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. There is however, still room for improvement to make it possible in practice to monitor declarations on conflict of interest, by aligning the conflict of interest legislation with EU best practices, introducing sanctions for incorrect or incomplete declarations of interests, addressing the transfer of assets to relatives and lowering the burden of proof before an investigation can be launched into whether assets were obtained illegally.

 

Human rights and the protection of minorities

 

Romania continues to respect human rights and freedoms. A major development is the issuing of an Emergency Ordinance, in September 2000, on the prevention and combating of all forms of discrimination.

 

The ordinance covers rights defined in relevant international agreements and is broadly in line with the Council Directive on Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment between Persons Irrespective of their Racial and Ethnic Origins well as recent recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. However the ordinance is not yet operational since the necessary secondary legislation has not been adopted and the implementing body, the National Council for Preventing and Combating Discrimination, has not yet been established. Despite these delays, this legislation should, when implemented, represent a positive development by providing legal protection against discrimination on various grounds, including ethnic origin, language, religion, and sexual orientation.

 

New legal provisions adopted in February 2004 represented further progress with the transposition of the anti-discrimination acquis. However, despite several legislative improvements, some elements of an efficient antidiscrimination mechanism, such as the shift of the burden of proof or acceptance of statistical data as evidence of indirect discrimination, are still lacking.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The Romanian Ombudsman deals with complaints lodged by persons whose civil rights and freedoms have been infringed by the public administration. The amendment of the constitution in October 2003 gave the Ombudsman the possibility of commenting on the constitutionality of legislation prior to its entry into force. The staff of the Ombudsman’s office has increased. The Ombudsman is accountable to Parliament. Between September 2003 and August 2004, the Ombudsman received 5 143 petitions - 658 more than during the previous reporting period. Ministries should be more responsive to the Ombudsman’s requests.

 

Civil and political right

 

Romania has made significant progress in improving the civil and political rights of its citizens. Reform of the childcare system is well under way and the decriminalisation of homosexuality has brought Romania in line with European standards. Important new legislation has been passed regarding the restitution of property. New legislation has clarified the rights of asylum seekers and refugees and the introduction of probation represents an important reform of the penal system. Further, positive initiatives have been taken to address trafficking of human beings although this remains a serious problem. Despite this progress, implementation of reforms has been disappointing in several of these areas. This is a challenge that the government will have to address.

 

Economic, social and cultural rights

 

The government’s agenda has prioritised social issues such as the fight against social exclusion and promoting equal opportunities between men and women. Various initiatives have been launched but a lack of resources and limited administrative capacity has slowed down implementation. More substantial progress has been made with the conclusion of a Social Pact with the social partners although the position of trade unions in private enterprises remains weak.

 

Summary

 

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Romania fulfilled the political criteria. Since then, the country has made considerable progress in further consolidating and deepening the stability of its institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. Over the past year, further positive developments have been noted. Romania continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria.

 

The Economic criteria

 

In examining the economic developments in Romania since the Opinion, the Commission’s approach was guided by the conclusions of the European Council in Copenhagen in June 1993, which stated that membership of the Union requires:

 

the existence of a functioning market economy; and

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the capacity to cope with the competitive pressures and market forces within the Union.

 

In the analysis below, the Commission has followed the methodology applied in the Opinion and the previous annual Regular Reports.

 

In its 1997 Opinion on Romania’s application for EU membership, the Commission concluded:

 

“Romania has made considerable progress in the creation of a market economy”; it would face serious difficulties coping with the competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the medium term”.

 

This finding was confirmed in the 1998 and 1999 Regular Reports. In its 2000 Regular Report the Commission found that:

 

“Romania cannot be considered as a functioning market economy and it is not able to cope with the competitive pressures and market forces within the Union in the medium term.”

 

The existence of a functioning market economy

 

The existence of a functioning market economy requires that prices, as well as trade, be liberalised and that an enforceable legal system, including property rights, is in place. Macroeconomic stability and consensus about economic policy enhance the performance of a market economy. A well-developed financial sector and the absence of any significant barriers to market entry and exit improve the efficiency of the economy.

 

There is a growing consensus about the ultimate objectives of economic policy. The commitment to structural reform and macroeconomic stabilisation was reaffirmed by concluding a new IMF programme at the end of October 2001. In September 2001, the government approved Romania’s first Pre-Accession Economic Programme and submitted it to the Commission in early October.

 

In 2000, Romania experienced a 1.6% increase in economic activity. This ended the recession which had caused a 13% cumulative decline in GDP since 1997. The primary source of growth in 2000 was investment, which grew by 5.5%, along with inventory accumulation and exports, which expanded by nearly 24% in real terms. In contrast, household consumption expenditure fell by 1.2%.

 

Monetary policy has focused on objectives other than price stability. In order to honour its external obligations and maintain external competitiveness, the central bank has pursued the twin objectives of building up foreign exchange reserves and keeping the real exchange rate competitive. However, this came at the expense of price stability, which was already hard to achieve given the difficulty to control costs, and most notably public enterprises wages, in the absence of hard budget constraints. As a consequence, inflation has remained very high, although declining. The December 2000 end of period inflation rate was 40.7%, compared to 54.8% the previous year. The twelve-month average inflation rate had fallen to 37.2% in September 2001 from 45.7% in 2000.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

After several years of significant fiscal consolidation, the deficit has stabilised. In 2000, the GFS-based general government consolidated deficit was 4.0. % of GDP, compared to 3.8% in 1999. The previous government successfully resisted expenditure pressures in the run-up to the elections. The budget was also helped by a lower foreign debt-servicing requirement.

 

Government expenditure accounted for 35.6% of GDP, while total revenues accounted for

 

31.6% of GDP. For 2000, the authorities’ estimate for the ESA 95-based general government deficit was also 3.8% of GDP.

 

The underlying fiscal dynamics have improved in recent months. The 2001 budget, adopted in April, prioritised social expenditure, particularly in the areas of child allowances and pensions, and targeted a general government deficit of 3.7% of GDP. Due to the upturn in economic activity during 2001, tax revenues have performed well. Interest expenditure, as a percentage of total expenditure, has fallen giving the authorities some room to increase social outlays. In line with the improved budgetary performance, the deficit target was revised downwards to 3.5% of projected GDP last June. Since the budget outturn for the first half of the year was a deficit of 2% of projected GDP, the revised target implies a welcomed tightening of fiscal policy. In line with this new stance, the deficit target for 2002 was set at 3% of GDP.

 

Much remains to be done to improve the transparency of fiscal policy, increase the quality of public expenditure management, and enhance medium term fiscal sustainability. These problems are particularly severe at the local government level. These issues need to be addressed to allow Romania to increase EU accession-related expenditures. Furthermore, the government has not yet addressed the medium term fiscal challenges, especially pensions and healthcare reform. So far government policies have been directed at attaining short-term stability.

 

After improving to 3.7% of GDP in 2000, the current account deficit widened sharply over the first seven months of 2001, when it totalled 3.6% of projected GDP. Over the last 18 months, export performance has been impressive. In 2000, exports increased by 22% in (dollar) value terms. Growth remained buoyant but slowed down to 14.6% in the eight months to August. The foundation for this strong export performance was laid in 1999 when the real exchange rate depreciation restored external competitiveness. Export demand was also strongly affected by developments within the EU economy. The value of imports increased by around 25% in 2000 and grew at roughly the same pace year-on-year over the first eight months of 2001. The import surge is partly the result of temporary factors in 2000, such as higher world oil prices and a drought, which depressed agricultural production and increased food import needs. Lately, however, import growth has been supported by rising capital expenditure and by the looser policy mix leading to stronger household consumption.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

Furthermore, the authorities have modified the administration of the privatisation process. The new government abolished the State Ownership Fund, the institution that had previously been responsible for managing and privatising state-owned enterprises. It was replaced by the Authority for Privatisation and Management of State Assets (APAPS). This new institution was given additional legal authority to accelerate the privatisation process. The authorities, against modifying the existing privatisation law but are prepared to adopt a more flexible case by-case approach with those enterprises where there is strong investor interest. However, the flexibility of a case-by-case approach will have to be coupled with greater transparency to avoid opportunities for corruption.

 

In addition, the financial system is very underdeveloped, and it cannot yet provide effective intermediation between savers and investors. In June 2001, total banking sector assets amounted to only 24.7% of projected GDP, while total lending activity was only 10.4% of GDP. The majority of commercial loans have very short maturities. Over half of all loans have a maturity of less than one year, while only 13% have a maturity greater than five years. Mortgage lending accounts are for just over 1% of all lending activity. Around 69% of all loans are denominated in foreign currency. In June 2001, the commercial bank interest rate spread for non-bank clients was a massive 19%.

 

The capacity to cope with competitive pressures and market forces within the Union.

 

The ability to fulfil this criterion depends on the existence of market economy and a stable macroeconomic framework, allowing economic agents to make decisions in a climate of predictability. It also requires a sufficient amount of human and physical capital, including infrastructure. State enterprises need to be restructured and all enterprises need to invest to improve their efficiency. Furthermore, the more access enterprises have to outside finance and the more successful they are at restructuring and innovating, the greater will be their capacity to adapt. Overall, an economy will be better able to take on the obligations of membership the higher the degree of economic integration it achieves with the Union before accession. Both the volume and the range of products traded with EU Member States provide evidence of this.

 

The absence of a functioning market economy has hampered the development of economic activity particularly the growth of the private sector. This often led to economic disequilibria with high social costs. Misplaced attempts to solve the problems through further direct government intervention eventually failed, producing cycles of stop and go policies. The high inflationary environment has been especially damaging to private sector confidence.

 

Romania’s education system suffers from a lack of resources. In 2000, government expenditure on education was just 3.6% of GDP. Romania has a low participation rate of students in higher education and only 11% of the workforce has received tertiary level education. The amount spent on research and development has fallen from 0.8% of GDP in#p#分頁標題#e#

 

1994 to 0.5% of GDP in 1998. Skill levels in the rural areas are low.

 

Romania does not have sufficient physical capital. The transport infrastructure is weak and suffers from a lack of investment. The motorway network has not increased in nine years. A long-term programme for the rehabilitation of the main road and railways networks has now been established, but it will have to be financed by international donors. In 2000, gross fixed capital formation amounted to 18.5% of GDP, although this ratio was inflated by often wasteful investments made by the state-owned enterprises. The large agricultural sector suffers from particularly difficult problems, including an obsolete capital stock, low productivity, and feeble market institutions. Energy sector infrastructure is also in a poor state as artificially low prices have starved firms of the funds needed to maintain and upgrade their capital.

 

Cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) remains low on a per capita basis. Nonetheless, FDI has provided a fairly constant inflow of funds, averaging 3.5% of GDP over the last four years. In 2000, net foreign direct investment amounted to € 1.1 billion, which represents 2.8% of GDP. In the first half of 2001, FDI flows remained constant in nominal terms relative to the same period in 2000. The authorities have tried to improve the administrative procedures for foreign investors. They have created a new government department for relations with foreign investors, which will act as a “one-stop shop” for investments above $10 million. Although the government has adopted a new investment law which offers tax incentives to investors, the stability of the tax codes, rather than the continuous fine-tuning of targeted incentives, holds the key to increase investors’ interest.

 

The new government has emphasised the importance of developing small and medium sized enterprises. SMEs represent the vast majority of firms and employ around 50% of the labour force. Most are very small and operate in trade and services. An unstable legal environment has hindered their development. SMEs have also found it difficult to gain access to the financial system, forcing them to rely largely on retained profits to finance their growth.

 

Government policy towards the enterprise sector has often directed scarce resources to the support of the state owned sector at the expense of developing a strong private sector. Several large and inefficient firms have been allowed to survive with state support. Despite poor corporate governance, unviable state-owned enterprises have been allowed to continue their operations because of the absence of hard budget constraints, and, in many cases, large implicit state aid, typically granted by forgiving tax arrears and other debts to the state. Moreover, the state has not been able to stop these companies from building up very considerable arrears to creditors, including workers, utilities and the budget. By allowing these enterprises to continue their operations, successive governments have failed to create an appropriate structure of incentives for a thorough restructuring of the supply side of the economy.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

However, the authorities have set up the institutional framework for monitoring and approving state aids. The Competition Council, which was created in 1999, now considers each case of state aid, and assesses its impact upon the competitive environment.

 

As a result of strong recent export performance, the Romanian economy has become much more open. In 2000, exports and imports accounted for 74% of GDP, compared to 62.4% in 1999. The European Union is Romania’s largest trading partner. In 2000, the EU accounted for around 64% of exports and 57% of imports. Reflecting Romania’s comparative advantage and increased wage competitiveness, the product composition of exports is changing. Textiles now account for about a third of exports, while metallurgical products account for about 15%. Over the last two years, the real exchange rate has remained broadly constant.