Romanian PM visits Brussels

The Romanian Prime Minister Călin Popescu Tăriceanu is on an official visit today and tomorrow to Brussels, where he will meet with the president of the European Commission.

During the visit, Tăriceanu will present the priorities and strategies of the Romanian Government regarding the country's accession to the EU. Romania is expected to join the European Union on January 1, 2007, provided it fulfills the commitments to integration that it promised during accession negotiations.

The Prime Minister said that, "The European integration is the government's absolute priority". Tăriceanu was accompanied by the independent justice minister Monica Macovei, who will discuss the Justice and Internal Affairs chapter. Justice and Internal Affairs has remained to date Romania's most problematic chapter towards accession, with the country coming under fire for its political interference in judicial institutions. Macovei claims that by March this year, a reform strategy will be put into place regarding the independence and efficiency of the justice system.