Country Commitments

Romania

20 September 2011
Commitments Delivered
Download the Action Plan

Shortly after the official launching of the Open Government Partnership, the Romanian Government rallied behind the values promoted by this multilateral initiative. In a letter addressed by the Romanian minister of foreign affairs to its American counterpart, the Government expressed its will to become part of one the most important instruments to promote governmental transparency globally, to increase civic participation in public life and to use new technologies in order to enhance administrative efficiency and fight corruption.

Transparency towards citizens and the civil society is one of the 13 guiding principles underlining the 2012 Government Program. Enhancing the consultation process when drafting public policies, as well as ensuring the transparency of public expenditure, public procurement and the implementation of projects financed by European structural funds, count among the priorities mentioned in the Government’s Program.

The Romanian Government’s initiative also responds to the strong signal given in December 2011 by the European Commission by the presentation of the Open Data Package. The package contains a Communication from the Commission addressed to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Open data – An engine for innovation, growth and transparent governance. The Commission set forth a calendar of actions to start in 2012. The package presented by the Commission also includes a proposal for revising Directive 2003/98/CEon the re-use of public sector information.

The OGP National Action Plan reflects the priorities of the Romanian Government with regard to promoting good governance. The short and medium-term measures planned to be effected express Romania’s determination to implement the OGP commitments, with a special note being given to the following challenges:

  • improving public services;
  • increasing public integrity;
  • more effectively managing public resources.

The main sets of commitments set forth aim to facilitate public access to open data and to on-line public services.

Below, please see Romania's letter of intent.

 

 

Image of Romania's letter of intent to OGP, page 1 of 1.

Romania has laid out the foundation on which to build a set of open government commitments. The laws regulating transparency in the decision-making process and freedom of information have been shaping Romanian civic life for almost a decade. Asset declaration and conflict of interest rules regarding public officials are internationally recognized examples of good practices. The publicity of public procurement and budget policy are also functional, albeit not perfect mechanisms.

The public administration has lately become more aware of the role information technology plays in order to facilitate the delivery of public services to the citizens and to facilitate public access to information. Various e-government projects are currently available to the general public. Their complexity varies from interrogation of public databases to on-line payments of fiscal duties. The Government is nevertheless aware that the efforts undertaken so far to open administration for the citizens are just the first stages of a more complex construction, capable to respond to the increasing public interest in the administration and capable to adjust to the advancement of technology.

The Strategy for better regulation of the central administration (2008 – 2013)underlines the need to enhance the process of consultation with the civil society and especially the development of a culture of communication between the central public administration and those interested in the early stages of lawmaking. The Government Annual Work Plan will also allow the civil society to have advance access to the most important initiatives that public institutions propose for the government agenda.

The OGP objectives are complementary to those set forth in the National Anticorruption Strategy, being aimed at achieving the same encompassing goal of strengthening public integrity and accountability of governance. Enhancing institutional transparency by increasing the degree of availability of open public data is one of the specific objectives of the National Anticorruption Strategy, approved by Government Decision no. 215/2012. To this end, the Strategy mentions the following measures to be taken:

  • taking the steps to join the Open Government Partnership;
  • ensuring the compliance with the laws regulating freedom of information and transparency in the decision-making process;
  • developing e-government / e-administration / e-justice platforms for citizens to access public services;

The National Action Plan tackles the open government concept from the perspective of two pillars of public transparency, which, although complementary, can be addressed separately: public access to open data and the offering of public services in an electronic format (e-government).