Political note for the "Fritz amendment”: Commission may block 770 million euros from the PNRR

The leaders of the EPP and Renew Europe, Manfred Weber and Valerie Hayer, sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the "Fritz amendment”, adopted by the PSD-AUR majority and validated by the Constitutional Court, violates the rule of law and European Union legislation. Therefore, the heads of the two political groups in the European Parliament ask the Community Executive to no longer unblock the allocation of 770 million euros for our country, which also included the fulfillment of the milestone with the amendment of the National Integrity Agency law.

The European Commission confirmed yesterday the receipt of the document and specified that the amendments to the integrity law will be assessed within the sixth and final payment request from the PNRR, which has not yet been submitted by Romania.

We recall that the contested amendment allows the termination of the mandates of elected officials and dignitaries by applying new legal consequences to situations prior to the entry into force of the law. Weber and Hayer argue that the amendment was designed to remove the mayor of Timişoara and the president of the USR, Dominic Fritz. As is clear from the text of the letter, the reference by the two European political leaders to Fritz's German citizenship does not represent, as was suggested yesterday on social networks and in the statements of some Romanian politicians, discrimination against Romanian citizens. Dominic Fritz's citizenship is mentioned to demonstrate that his mandate falls directly under the protection of European law. Fritz ran for and was elected in another Member State on the basis of Article 22(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which guarantees EU citizens the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in local elections in the state in which they reside. Fritz therefore does not benefit from immunity and is not placed above Romanian law. The problem is that, although Romania recognized his European right to be elected, it has now decided to remove him from his second term as mayor by retroactively applying a sanction introduced after its commencement. Manfred Weber and Valerie Hayer argue that in an area protected by Union law, Parliament and the CCR cannot disregard a right guaranteed by the European treaties.

If the European Executive decides to block the 770 million euros, it can be said that the "Fritz amendment” has transformed a political settlement of accounts into a bill paid by the entire country.