The authorities are examining the possibility of merging the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (APO) and the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), and the aim is to combine the forces of all institutions in the fight against corruption and organized crime, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Doina German stated in the program "Resumé” on RLIVE, IPN reports.
The PAS MP explained that, after the referendum and the presidential election held last autumn, the authorities ascertained a close connection between organized crime and political corruption. In order to prevent similar scenarios in the parliamentary elections of this autumn, firm actions and better coordination of institutions are needed.
"We need to strengthen state institutions. In the previous elections, organized crime and political corruption consolidated and attacked harshly. That is why one of the solutions is to merge these two specialized prosecutors' offices," said Doina German.
According to the official, merging the APO and PCCOCS could be the optimal solution to fight corruption and organized crime more effectively. The experience of other states, such as Croatia, Italy and Albania, shows that this model brings positive results.
"There is such a model in Italy as well. We have the example of the NAD in Romania, the example of Croatia, Albania. We want institutions that will respond firmly to all the challenges that come to undermine the security of the state. We do not personalize this topic. It is only the national interest," said the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Earlier, the Ministry of Justice publicly presented a concept of strengthening the institutional architecture of the institutions responsible for combating corruption. One of the proposals of the Ministry of Justice is to merge the APO and PCCOCS into a single entity within the Prosecutor General's Office. According to the concept, the merger should take place through the transfer of all prosecutors, continuation of their work and maintenance of the cases under investigation.
