Preliminary assessment of the second payment request of Romania

as “Venice Commission”) and the Rule of Law Reports. Milestone 422 provides for the transposition of the Directive (EU) 2019/1153 as well as for the introduction of several changes related to the extension of the institutional mandate of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (hereinafter referred to as “ANABI”), addressing issues such as administration and valorisation of seized property and collaboration with other relevant bodies in the process of recovering damages. Milestone 422 is the second milestone of reform C14.R5, and it follows the completion of milestone 421 related to the entry into force of the law approving the strategy for the development of the judiciary 2022-2025. It will be followed by milestone 424 related to amendment of the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, milestone 426 related to the entry into force of the legislative act approving the new National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and target 427 related to the increase in the value of seized assets managed by the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets.

The reform has a final expected date for implementation in Q4 2025.
Evidence provided:
In line with the verification mechanism set out in the Operational Arrangements, the following
evidence was provided:
  i)    Summary document duly justifying how the milestone (including all the constitutive
        elements) was satisfactorily fulfilled;
  ii)    Copy of Government Ordinance No. 9/2021 of 30 August 2021on “laying down rules
        facilitating the use of financial information and financial analysis for the prevention,
        detection, investigation or prosecution of certain criminal offences”, transposing Directive
        (EU) 2019/1153, published in Official Journal No. 831 of 31 August 2021
        https://monitoruloficial.ro/Monitorul-Oficial--PI--831--2021.html;
 iii)   Law No. 169/2022, ratifying Government Ordinance No. 9/2021 of 30 August 2021,

        published in Official Journal, Part I No. 548 of 6 June 2022
        https://monitoruloficial.ro/Monitorul-Oficial--PI--548--2022.html;
 iv)    Law No. 230/2022 extending ANABI’s institutional mandate amending both Law No.
        318/2015 on the establishment, organization and functioning of ANABI, and Law No.
        135/2010 on the Criminal Procedure Code, published in Official Journal No. 734 of 21 July
        2022 https://monitoruloficial.ro/Monitorul-Oficial--PI--734--2022.html.
Analysis:
The justification and substantiating evidence provided by the Romanian authorities cover all
constitutive elements of the milestone.
The legislative act shall transpose the Directive (EU) 2019/1153.
The Romanian Government adopted Government Ordinance No. 9/2021 laying down rules
facilitating the use of financial information and financial analysis for the prevention, detection,

investigation or prosecution of certain criminal offences of 30 August 2021 (hereinafter referred to as Government Ordinance No. 9/2021) that transposes the Directive (EU) 2019/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down rules facilitating the use of financial and other information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of certain criminal offences. The Government Ordinance was then promulgated by Law No. 169/2022 and published in Official Journal No. 548 of 6 June 2022. In line with the Directive, Article 3(3) of Government Ordinance No. 9/2021 provides that ANABI, under the Ministry of Justice, is the competent authority to access and consult the centralised register of bank accounts. ANABI can use this information to prevent, detect and investigate specific criminal offences and to support specific criminal investigations, including the identification, tracing 68