The Cabinet of Ministers approved a general opinion on the draft law that provides for the creation of the Anticorruption and Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office (PACCO), IPN reports.
"The initiative derived from the need to significantly reform the system of prosecutors' offices by creating a specialized institution as a result of the liquidation of the APO and PCCOCS," said Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.
The official noted that the draft law is based on political-legal decisions, such as the Supreme Security Council’s decisions of November and January, which highlighted the need to step up efforts to combat organized crime and corruption, and also on the parliamentary consultations that centered on electoral fraud.
On February 20, the draft law providing for the creation of the PACCO was given a first reading, securing the votes of 61 MPs. According to the sponsors of the bill, the efforts to combat corruption and organized crime are to be strengthened by pooling skills within a unified specialized institution. The draft law is to be given a final reading.
The Superior Council of Prosecutors recently issued a statement saying that the bill on the creation of the PACCO entails a number of risks and weaknesses and the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases should not be liquidated. In order to implement a balanced and efficient reform, which would not affect the functionality of the system of prosecutors' offices, the Council proposed merging the specialized prosecutors' offices into one institution.
