PM Emil Boc
I propose you to start today’s Executive meeting; Minister Predoiu, the draft law on the monitoring commission for justice progress, legal system reform, please, take the floor.

Minister Catalin Predoiu
Mr. Prime Minister, whereby this decision, we propose the centralization of the mechanism in charge of monitoring the actions necessary for fulfilling the objectives included within the mechanism of cooperation and verification. At present, this mechanism was extremely heavy, made of two commissions, one on no. 1 objective and the other on no. 2 objective, which complicates a little bit the works since these objectives are interrelated. Therefore, in consensus with the other institutions with attributions in justice, and I outline that there are many institutions with attributions within this cooperation and verification mechanism, by the Justice Ministry, interface authority with European Commission, there are also the Upper Council of Magistracy, Public Ministry, Administration and Interior Ministry, and with respect to the interface with European bodies, there is the Foreign Ministry. In consensus with these institutions and further to consultations with them, including the ANI and DNA, we proposed this mechanism which is a simplified one. The Commission will held monthly meetings, chaired by the Justice Minister, while the technical secretariat will deal with the preparation of these works. The entire process will benefit from an increased transparency, the meetings will be announced and the daily agenda published on the Justice Ministry’ site. There is also a consultation mechanism with NGOs, and the Justice Minister is likely to invite the NGOs at these meetings, first the magistrates’ associations, I am going to institute a practice in this respect. This commission will submit reports to Prime Minister and other state decision making factors for supervising the monitoring of these actions. With respect to your draft law, I would have a new proposal, namely the decisions made by this commission, through consensus, as the draft law stipulates, should be enacted by each institution that is part of the commission, according to domestic regulations. In other words, since this commission has no legal personality and adopts as the decision says, decisions and recommendations, I believe we have to additionally provide that the decisions made by commission, through consensus, should be implemented by each institution, otherwise, we remain at the debate and recommendation stage. I would like this mechanism to be an effective one and lead to concrete actions. I would like to say that this mechanism, discussed in principle with the European Commission’s evaluation mission in Bucharest, on January, revealed an agreement of principle and I believe we have the support, in principle, from the part of the European Commission.

PM Emil Boc
Thank you, Minister. In my view, this Executive Decision aiming at the setting up of this structure, should first and foremost pursue the measures necessary for lifting the mechanism of cooperation and verification on justice, monitor mainly these aspects related to the cooperation and verification mechanism and obviously, afterwards, all the other related mechanisms. It is not justified unless it aims at this objective, given that Romania is not yet a full –fledged member of EU as long as this mechanism is still in force. Secondly, I propose you that the State Adviser on legal matters of Prime Minister, becomes member of the team you proposed, therefore the nomination of the state adviser on legal matters of the Prime Minister, who issues the monthly reports you have, and we will also have to have a monthly report, in the Executive, on these things, and on the way the decisions made through consensus, are further implemented by Ministers. If there are no more observations, we deem the draft law as approved.
Minister Borbely, you have the floor for the draft law on the amendment of Water law.
Minister Borbely: Prime Minister, this law is needed since we have a motivated infringement from EU with respect to the amendment of Water law, this amendment is important because so far, the provisions of the European Parliament and Council Directive from 2007 have not been totally transposed into reality, and there are some measures whereby we have to amend this law. First, it introduces clarifications of some elements for regulating some actions from the programmes of measures within river basin management plans like: prevention of the deterioration of the state of all surface waters, curbing the pollution with dangerous substances, prevention and limitation of polluting evacuation in underground waters, and prevention of the deterioration of the state of all underground water bodies. New deeds have been included in the category of offence in the water field, such as : release of building authorization, without location notice, and water management notice; in case of non – achievement of some repair works, the following deeds are considered offence: non – equipping of hydro-technical constructions with necessary equipment for their supervision in time, non – observance of the obligation of riverside parts to manage the waters in the areas set by contracts, lacks of exploitation regulations, their non – updating.
The legislative act has taken over all the directive provisions and through this legislative act; we can intervene more efficiently with respect to all these aspects related to floods, their prevention, and the sanctioning of all those breaching legal provisions in the field. With respect to risk maps, we are duty bound to finalize all risk maps until 2013, they are in a certain stage, and we have to speed them up, hold a permanent discussion with local authorities, and these management plans containing prevention, protection and preparation measures for intervention until 2015. Therefore, the risk maps until 2013 and this management plan until 2015, this does not mean that we do not have some finalized maps; we will further need a coordinated activity with all factors involved in this respect.

PM Emil Boc
Thanks. All notices from Ministries are within this file. Are there observations from other colleagues, the Department for Relation with Parliament, from the emergency perspective?

Mr. Valentin Iliescu
Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, the extraordinary situation in which the ordinance has been issued is justified.

PM Emil Boc
Which is that?

Mr. Valentin Iliescu
The triggered infringement procedure ..

PM Emil Boc
We need to have a serious discussion on Constitution revision, because, on the one hand, we want to limit the number of emergency ordinances and on the other hand, there are these issues related to the implementation of European directives, on which the infringement procedures depend.

Minister Laszlo Borbely
Yesterday, I was in Brussels and I have discussed with the Director General from DG Environment, they had been pleasantly impressed that within one month, we came up with three legislative acts whereby we removed three infringements, this is the fourth, next month, the fifth. There will be five infringements cancelled in a month and a half…that so far have not been resolved.

PM Emil Boc
If there are no observations, we consider the draft law approved. We pass to the point - draft law for the amendment of addendum to Executive Decision 1.102/ 2008 on the approval of the national programme of medical, psychological and social assistance to drug addicts. On the basis of what I have discussed with the Health Minister, I would like to ban, under emergency procedure the ethno-botanical plants, irrespective of the existence or not of a notice from European Commission in this respect, because these plants have a devastating effect on youngsters, there have been fatalities among them, because of such plants. I think we have to urgently take action in this respect. I urge you Minister; let us adopt it since life is more important than any notice, ultimately.

Mr. Cseke Attila
Mr. Prime Minister, there is a group working on it and we are near to its finalization. Possibly, on Wednesday, we will come up with the draft legislative act.

PM Emil Boc
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Secretary of State will speak about the draft legislative act.

Mr. Mihai Capra
Through the Executive Decision 1.102/ 2008, we approved the national programme for medical, psychological and social assistance to drug addicts during 2009 – 2012. The programme has 9 subprogrammes. The subprogramme 8 contains a point 3 – the project on the functioning of the therapeutically community Dejani with a 30 seat capacity. The respective project benefits from a budget of 1,1 million EUR, out of which 800.000 EUR represent PHARE funds and 300.000 EUR co-financing, implemented by the National Anti – Drug Agency and the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police, in partnership with Finland. With a view to attaining the Dejani investment objective, as well as the results stipulated by contract, this Draft Executive Decision proposes the amendment of the addendum to Executive Decision 1102/ 2008 in the sense of introducing the projection and construction services as main activity, without affecting the budget of this program, with a view to passing these services into eligible expenditure category.

PM Emil Boc
For the European project we have talked about.

Mr. Mihai Capra
Yes, exactly.

PM Emil Boc
Without affecting other budget sections, and only to be eligible on European project. Dear colleagues, I believe that the Interior Ministry and the Health Ministry in principle, and also other Ministries as well, with competence in the field should take in serious this issue of drugs, with all its emerging forms, from the classical ones – it seems a phenomenon escaped under control in Bucharest, and these new forms of drugs, based on ethno-botanical plants, with devastating effects, you could well see that there is a fashion with lethal effects among youth. There should be a visible action on the part of the Agency in cooperation with the Health Ministry, Police and Justice. Romania has the legislation that sanctions the drug traffickers, it needs however to put it in tune with what actually happens in the street. Unless there are observations, we consider the draft law approved.