The European Commission accuses Romania of incomplete transposition of EU rules regarding legal aid

The European Commission has opened infringement procedures against Romania and Slovenia for the incorrect transposition of EU rules regarding legal aid for suspects and defendants, arguing that Romania grants this right only to persons formally charged, not to those who are merely suspects.

In short

The Commission has sent letters of formal notice to Romania and Slovenia in the legal aid case.

The directive in question is Directive (EU) 2016/1919.

The Commission states that Romania and Slovenia provide legal aid only to persons formally charged, not to suspects.

For Slovenia, Brussels also points out other additional transposition issues.

The two states have two months to respond.

The European executive asserts that EU law aims to protect the fundamental rights of suspects and defendants, including those sought on the basis of a European arrest warrant. To this end, the directive establishes common minimum standards deemed necessary for judicial decisions made in one member state to be recognized by other member states.

In the Commission's assessment, Romania and Slovenia provide legal aid only to persons who have been formally charged with a crime, not to those who are merely suspected of committing a crime. In the case of Romania, this is the deficiency explicitly indicated in the Commission's document.

For Slovenia, the Commission mentions additional issues. According to its assessment, Slovenian legislation provides legal aid only upon request, does not guarantee legal aid in cases of preventive detention, and allows some decisions at early stages of the procedure to be made by the police, not by a competent and independent authority, such as a court.

The Commission has sent letters of formal notice to both states, which now have two months to respond and to remedy the reported deficiencies.

The Commission describes infringement as the formal tool through which it seeks compliance with EU law by member states. The four main types of cases are the non-transmission of national measures, non-compliance of national legislation with directives, violation of treaties, regulations, or EU decisions, and incorrect application of Union law by national authorities.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/comisia-europeana-acuza-romania-de-transpunerea-incompleta-a-normelor-ue-privind-ajutorul-judiciar