"I greet you as a member of parliament from an EU member state", so the Romanian MP Florin Iordache opened his letter to Gunther Krichbaum. And like the German CDU politician, he was also chairman of the committee for European affairs in his parliament.
But then it's over with the niceties.
He hopes that reports of Krichbaum's sharp criticism of the conditions in Romania are "a gross misrepresentation of your views." Because this is a "gross distortion of the situation in Romania," writes Iordache in his letter to Krichbaum, which is the SPIEGEL.
What happened? Krichbaum had denounced EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for the recent relaxation of anti-corruption laws in Romania. His government and parliament "systematically worked to impede the much needed fight against corruption and dismantle rule-of-law standards." Juncker should immediately open criminal proceedings under Article 7 of the EU treaties, demanded Krichbaum in the letter, about which SPIEGEL had first reported.
Union faction should "take an objective look at the facts"
Iordache now rejects the criticism comprehensively. It is not only wrong, but the exact opposite of the truth. Then again he admits that there are problems with corruption in his country. However, the pressure from the EU was responsible for this, which led former governments to declare corruption a national security issue. This in turn has called the notorious domestic intelligence service SRI on the scene, and he had targeted above all the Romanian Social Democrats - which now govern the country and which also includes Iordache.
Krichbaum's criticism is party-politically motivated, concludes Iordache - and calls on him and his colleagues in the Union faction to "take an objective look at the facts" instead of acting out of "brotherly loyalty" to their Romanian allies. Iordache was Romanian Minister of Justice at the beginning of 2017, but had to resign after only one month - because of mass protests against a decree that should criminalize corruption cases below a certain amount of money.
Commission again announces action against Romania
Iordache's party-political accusation could have been dealt with as soon as the EU Commission takes action in the case. Because responsible is there just Frans Timmermans, who is not only vice-president of the European Commission, but also top candidate of the Social Democrats for the European elections.
In a response to Krichbaum's letter to Juncker, Timmermans wrote on Thursday that the development in Romania was "viewed with great concern". There have been renewed talks with Bucharest in recent weeks, but they say "we have not yet come to the conclusion that Romania is back on track".
Timmermans had previously threatened tough and swift action against Romania if the local government did not correct its anti-corruption course. He emphasizes this now: "If our concerns are not resolved, the Commission must act swiftly and make use of the means at its disposal," says Timmermans' letter to SPIEGEL. From commission circles it is to be heard that possibly already at the beginning of next week "hard measures" are introduced.