7. Supports Romania's efforts to root out the high level of corruption in state and society;
strongly urges the Romanian Government to make use of the cooperation agreement it concluded with Europol on 13 May 2003 to render the fight against corruption more effective; takes the resignation of three ministers on 20 October 2003 to be a sign that this issue is taken seriously by the highest level of government; is, however, concerned that in general the services within the administration responsible for corruption appear to be too passive in investigating such cases; acknowledges that the legal framework to fight corruption is in place
...[+++] and calls on the Romanian authorities to focus attention on the enforcement of the existing legislation; in this context urges the government to further increase the staff at the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and to give permanent status to all of the prosecutors rather than having them seconded by other government bodies; asks the government to provide further training for all the staff as well as to strengthen the office's operational independence, in particular by eliminating the responsibility of political appointees and politicians to decide on the launching of anti-corruption investigations; notes that first and foremost there must be the political will to eradicate corruption, for only this will lead to a change in attitudes;