2. Setting the scene: The context and drivers for open government in Romania
This chapter provides an overview of the context and drivers that frame the implementation of open government policies and practices in Romania. It starts by introducing the history of open government reforms in the country. It further discusses key socio-economic and political challenges that have an impact on the country’s open government agenda, such as persistent low levels of trust in government and the urban-rural divide.
Open government is based on the idea that citizens and stakeholders should be enabled and given the opportunity to see, understand, contribute to, take, monitor, and evaluate public decisions and actions (OECD, forthcoming[1]). Open government policies and practices are today widely recognised as key contributors to strengthening public trust and to regaining trust in public institutions, as also noted in the OECD Declaration on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy (the “Luxembourg Declaration”) (OECD, 2022[2]).
Open government approaches are a means to support countries in dealing with complex domestic and global policy challenges, and support policy efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance (OECD, forthcoming[1]). In this regard, the results of the OECD’s first-ever comprehensive Trust Survey (OECD, 2022[3]) highlight that giving access to public information, providing opportunities to engage in the policymaking process and responding to public feedback and demands has an important impact on the way citizens perceive their government. In particular, the Trust report’s first recommendation is that governments should “connect and engage with citizens in policy design, delivery and reform”.
This chapter starts by introducing the OECD’s definition of open government and by highlighting Romania’s own understanding of the concept. It then provides a brief history of open government reforms in Romania before explaining key elements in terms of governance, economic development, etc., acknowledging that economic development, well-being, social inequalities, trust in government and democratic quality have an impact on a country’s open government agenda.
Open government is a wide concept that has seen increased levels of global attention following the creation of the Open Government Partnership in 2011. The Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (2017[4]) (hereafter the “Recommendation”), the first and only internationally recognised legal instrument in the area of open government (see Chapter 3 on Methodology), defines it as “a culture of governance that promotes the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation in support of democracy and inclusive growth”.
As such, the OECD definition identifies two overarching objectives – fostering democracy and inclusive growth – as well as four open government principles to achieve them. The principles of open government – transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation – are in practice deeply related and intertwined. Conceptually, they can be defined as:
Transparency is understood as the disclosure of relevant government data and information in a manner that is timely, accessible, understandable, and re-usable (OECD, forthcoming[5]).
Public sector integrity refers to the consistent alignment of, and adherence to, shared ethical values, principles and norms for upholding and prioritising the public interest over private interests (OECD, 2020[6]).
Accountability is a relationship referring to the responsibility and duty of government, public entities, public officials, and decision makers to provide transparent information on, and be responsible for, their actions, activities and performance. It also includes the right and responsibility of citizens and stakeholders to have access to this information and have the ability to question the government and to reward/sanction performance through electoral, institutional, administrative, and social channels (OECD, forthcoming[5]).
Citizen and stakeholder participation includes all of the ways in which stakeholders1 can be involved in the policy cycle and in service design and delivery through information, consultation and engagement (OECD, 2017[4]).
With the emergence of the global open government movement, for the first time, countries started seeing the open government principles as one integrated cluster and developing holistic approaches to promote all of them in synergy (OECD, 2020[7]).
Open government constitutes a change of paradigm for governments, public administrations, civil servants, citizens, and stakeholders in general (Table 2.1). Open government touches upon the functioning and working methods of every institution and every individual public official and it has profound implications for the relationship between governments and citizens. The first generation of open government initiatives (OpenGov 1.0) focused mainly on improving the functioning of government as well as its core functions, cross-cutting systems, and internal processes (e.g. open contracting, open budgeting, etc.) (OECD, 2020[7]). In recent years, governments have started rethinking and reviewing their approaches and a new generation of initiatives has started to emerge (OpenGov 2.0). Second-generation open government initiatives apply open government approaches and tools to sector policies, including gender, environment, health, education, urban development, etc. Second-generation open government initiatives often also include a stronger focus on improving citizens’ living conditions and other impact areas (OECD, 2020[7]).
Source: OECD (2020[7]), Taking an Integrated Approach to the Promotion of Transparency, Integrity, Accountability and Stakeholders’ Participation: Towards an Open Government Strategy, Internal paper presented to the Working Party on Open Government, GOV/PGC/OG(2020).
Defining open government in Romania
The establishment of a common understanding of the concept of open government is an essential first step in developing a strategic approach to open government. Defining what the concept entails – and what it does not – defines the scope of a country’s open government agenda. Box 2.1 describes the benefits of a solid definition of open government.
According to the results of the 2020 OECD Survey on Open Government (OECD, 2021[9]), 30 (81.1%) out of the responding OECD Members and Adherents to the OECD Recommendation on Open Government had adopted either an official or a working definition of open government (Figure 2.2). Most of these definitions are inspired by the OECD’s (61.3%) or the OGP’s definition (67.7%). Existing definitions most commonly link open government with the concepts of transparency, accountability, and citizen participation (OECD, 2021[9]).
The OECD Report on Open Government: The Global Context and the Way Forward explains why a solid definition of open government is crucial:
It informs the public about the essential elements of open government, and the extent and limitations of the term.
It facilitates common understanding and usage of the term, and aligns all stakeholders and policymakers towards the same goals.
It facilitates robust analysis of the impacts of open government strategies and initiatives across different institutions and levels of government.
It supports international comparisons of open government strategies and initiatives.
Source: OECD (2016[10]), Open Government: The Global Context and the Way Forward, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264268104-en.
In Romania, the concept of open government is not officially defined (Government of Romania, 2022[11]).2 The term was first introduced when the country joined the Open Government Partnership in 2011 and elements of a definition can be found in different OGP action plans. For example, the 2020-2022 NAP mentioned the goal “to become a more open, accountable and efficient government, by promoting government transparency, encouraging civic participation in public life, using the latest technologies within the public administration and fighting against corruption” (Government of Romania, 2020, p. 3[12]). The current 2022-2024 OGP action plan highlights that “open government is the key to maintaining a functioning democracy in a modern and inclusive society” and reaffirms the country’s “determination to promote, support and develop policies specific to an open government, in which transparency, digitalisation of the administration, the fight against corruption, civic participation, institutional inclusion and accountability represent decisive values in the development, on democratic basis, of policies at the level of the government, by respecting the citizens’ agenda”. Hence, Romania also sees open government as an umbrella term that refers to a broad set of areas (Government of Romania, 2022[11]).
However, interviews conducted for this Review revealed that there is currently no uniform understanding of the concept in Romania. Open government is sometimes used synonymously with concepts such as transparency or open data (Government of Romania, 2022[11]). Further, the value and benefits of implementing open government initiatives were not always clear to interviewed public officials.
Similar conceptual ambiguity can be identified for the concept of citizen and stakeholder participation. Romania’s main legislative piece on the subject (Law no. 52/2003 on decisional transparency in public administration) refers to participation as “decision-making transparency”. While decisional transparency could be understood as the provision of information about decision-making, the law defines it as the “active participation of citizens in the administrative decision-making process and in the drafting of normative acts” (Art 1 (2) of Law no. 52/2003). The ambiguous usage of key open government terms can create confusion among public officials. While some interviewees associated participation with publishing information on draft laws, others understood it as being related to commenting on draft laws. This implies a different understanding of how active citizens are when “participating”.
Moving forward, Romania could develop and mainstream an official definition of open government to address the limited understanding of the benefits of open government policies and practices across the public sector building on existing definitions in different areas of open government (see Box 2.2). To foster ownership, the definition should be developed through an inclusive process that brings together public and non-public stakeholders. For example, Romania could make use of the process to design the next OGP action plan or launch a discussion on a single definition as part of the process to design the forthcoming Open Government Strategy.
Transparency: “Representatives of institutions and public authorities ensure unrestricted access to information of public interest, transparency of the decision-making process and consultation of civil society within this process.” Government of Romania, Government Decision no. 1 269/2021 on the approval of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2021-2025 and its related documents.
Information of public interest: “[I]nformation of public interest is understood any information that concerns the activities or results from the activities of a public authority or public institutions, regardless of the support or the form or the way of expressing the information.” Parliament of Romania, Law no. 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest.
Transparency in public decision-making: “[P]ublic authorities and institutions have the obligation to inform and submit draft normative acts to public consultation and debate and to allow citizens access to the administrative decision-making process, as well as to the data and information of public interest” Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 regarding the Administrative Code.
Social dialogue: “[T]he voluntary process through which the social partners inform themselves, consult and negotiate in order to establish agreements on issues of common interest.” Parliament of Romania, Law no. 62/2011 on social dialogue.
Impartiality: “Public administration personnel have the obligation to exercise their legal duties, without subjectivity, regardless of their own beliefs or interests.” Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 regarding the Administrative Code.
Elements of open government started appearing with the adoption of the Romania’s first democratic constitution in 1991 which for example guaranteed that “[t]he right of the person to have access to any information of public interest may not be restricted” (Chapter II, Art. 31 of The Constitution of Romania) and which established fundamental rights and obligations, such as citizens’ right to petition (Article 51) and citizens’ right of legislative initiative (Article 74).
At the beginning of the 2000s, a broad legal framework in different areas of open government was created. For example, Government Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding associations and foundations established an obligation for public authorities to consult with legally established associations and foundations (Art. 51) (see also the Civic Space Review of Romania (2023[13]). The right of Romanian citizens to petition all Romanian public authorities was operationalised through Government Ordinance no. 27/2002 on the regulation of the activity of solving petitions. Romania reached a milestone for transparency with the adoption of the country’s Law no. 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest in 2001. Participation in the form of consultations on draft normative acts was legally mandated through the adoption of Law no. 52/2003 on decisional transparency in public administration in 2003. Over the years, civil society participation in public decision-making was further entrenched through multiple laws, such as Law no. 367/2022 on social dialogue. Most recently, the country adopted its first Law no. 179/2022 on open data and re-use of public sector information (see Chapter 4 for a comprehensive overview of the legislative framework for open government in Romania).
Romania’s open government agenda gained momentum in 2011 when the country joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The OGP process provided a basis for the adoption of action plans on open government topics. Over the years, Romania has implemented over 70 commitments as part of its OPG action plans. These commitments were developed (and at times implemented) in collaboration with civil society organisations, in accordance with the Open Government Partnership’s Participation and Co-creation Standards (OGP, 2021[14]). As further highlighted throughout this Review, Romania has successfully used the OGP process to promote some important open government reforms, such as the creation of the E-Consultare platform and the establishment of a portal to provide access to legislation (http://legislatie.just.ro). At the time of writing, Romania is in the process of implementing the 6th National Action Plan for the period of 2022-2024.
Other strategic policy documents, such as the consecutive National Anti-corruption Strategies (NAS) which Romania has elaborated since 2002, have also included relevant open government initiatives. Notably, Romania’s NAS have contributed to widening the scope of information which Romanian public authorities and institutions must disclose proactively. Most recently, the 2021-2024 Government Programme highlighted transparency as one of its basic principles and included objectives relating to fostering transparency and citizens’ access to information, including in areas such as budgeting and public procurement. The adoption of Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) underlined Romania’s ambition to improve its strategic policy framework on open government by including a commitment to developing an Open Government Strategy (see Chapter 6 for a discussion of the policy framework and Romania’s Open Government Strategy).
Institutionally, open government policies and practices first became visible when Romania appointed a Minister Delegate for Social Dialogue in 2012. During the following legislature, a Ministry of Public Consultation and Civic Dialogue existed from 2016 to 2018,3 giving further prominence to the topic. Since the dissolution of this Ministry, the majority of responsibilities related to open government are located in the Open Government Directorate in the General Secretariat of Government (GSG). Organised into the Open Government Service and the Service for the Cooperation with the Associative Environment, this Directorate is responsible for the OGP process as well as developing and implementing policies in the areas of access to information, public consultation, and civil society development (see Chapter 5 for an analysis of governance mechanisms that create an enabling environment for an Open Government Strategy) (Decision no. 1 465/2022).
Source: Author’s own elaboration.
The political and socio-economic context that defines a country evidently also influences the design and implementation of open government strategies and initiatives (OECD, 2019[15]). For open government to develop its full potential, initiatives always need to be adapted to a country’s specific circumstances. The overview presented here does not aim to be exhaustive. Rather, it provides a snapshot of the main topics that frame the space for open government in Romania.
A consolidating democracy
The modern democratic state of Romania was established after the fall of the Ceaușescu regime in 1989. While formally a democracy, the early post-Ceausescu state continued to be captured by a small political and economic elite (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2022[18]). Partly thanks to a series of structural reforms implemented with the support of the European Union (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2022[18]), Romania’s democracy started to mature and, for example, civil society gradually developed as a formalised group of stakeholders over the course of the 1990s (Bădescu, 2010[19]). The role of civil society in public life was further consolidated with Romania’s accession to the European Union (Cuglesan, 2020[20]), which many CSOs remember as “a golden era” for collaboration between government and civil society (OECD, 2023[13]).
Overall, there has been a trend of democratisation in Romania, despite some drawbacks between 2016 and 2019 (Figure 2.4). The Nations in Transit Report 2022 categorises Romania as a “semi-consolidated democracy” with notable challenges persisting for example in the area of press freedom and the independence of media (Freedom House, 2022[21]). With 55.95 out of 100 points in the Democracy Score, Romania scores better than its neighbouring countries except for Bulgaria. A snapshot of Romania in several relevant indices in the area of democracy, open government and civic space can be found in Box 2.3.
Note: V-Dem asks “To what extent is the ideal of liberal democracy achieved?” with scores ranging from low to high (0-1) with “0” being worst and “1” being best. According to V-Dem, the liberal principle of democracy “emphasises the importance of protecting individual and minority rights against the tyranny of the state and the tyranny of the majority. The liberal model takes a ~negative~ view of political power insofar as it judges the quality of democracy by the limits placed on government. This is achieved by constitutionally protected civil liberties, strong rule of law, an independent judiciary, and effective checks and balances that, together, limit the exercise of executive power. To make this a measure of liberal democracy, the index also takes the level of electoral democracy into account” (V-Dem Institute, 2021[22]).
Source: Taken from OECD (2023[13]), Civic Space Scan of Romania, based on V-Dem Institute (2021[22]), Liberal Democracy Index, Romania.
ERCAS Government Transparency Index 2021: Romania scores 83 out of 100 points and places 13th among 128 countries.
Open Budget Index 2021: Romania achieves 63/100 regarding Budget Transparency, placing it 29th out of 120 countries. The country scores 7/100 in the area of public participation in budgeting and 43/100 in budget oversight.
Global Right to Information Rating: Romania ranks 67th out of 136 assessed countries with 85 out of 150 points.
Freedom House: Romania is rated “free” at 83/100 in the 2021 Freedom in the World Index.1
V-Dem 2022: Romania ranks 44th out of 179 countries in the 2022 V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 2021: Romania ranks 61st out of 167 countries assessed.
United Nations E-Participation Index 2020: Romania ranks 46th out of 193 places.
Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2021: Romania scores 45/100, giving it a ranking of 66 out of 180 places.2
World Justice Project Rule of Law Index: Romania ranks 41st out of 139 countries.
CIVICUS: Romania ranks as “narrowed” by CIVICUS in 2022.
Article 19 Freedom of Expression: Romania ranks as “less restricted” at 44th out of 161 countries in 2021.3
2021 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index: Romania ranks 48th out of 180 countries, with a score of 75.09 out of 100.
← 1. Freedom House classifies countries as free, partly free, or not free.
← 2. Transparency International scores range from 0-100, with 100 being the best score.
← 3. Article 19 classifies countries as open, less restricted, restricted, highly restricted, and in crisis.
Source: From OECD (2023[13]), Civic Space Scan of Romania, based on ERCAS (2021[23]); International Budget Partnership (n.d.[24]); Access Info Europe and Centre for Law and Democracy (n.d.[25]); CIVICUS (n.d.[26]); Freedom House (2022[27]); World Justice Project (2021[28]); Article 19 (2021[29]); Reporters without Borders (2021[30]); V-Dem Institute (2022[31]); World Economic Forum (2019[32]); Transparency International (2021[33]); Economist Intelligence Unit (2021[34]); United Nations (2020[35]).
A decentralised unitary state
Romania is a Republic and a unitary state (Art. 1, Constitution). Established through the union of the historical regions of Moldavia and Wallachia and declared independent in 1866, the current state of Romania is a unitary centralised state (Dobre, 2011[36]). Through the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the third historical region of Romania – Transylvania – was integrated into the Romanian state and territory. The tradition of a unitary centralised state was preserved throughout pre-communist times and reinforced during the communist era (Ibid.).
Romania is a Parliamentary Republic with a semi-presidential regime. Both the Romanian President and the Romanian Parliament bicameral (consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputatilor) and the Senate (Senatul) are directly elected by the population. All legislative power rests with the central level, which also implements domestic and international policy, oversees the state budget, and upholds law and order (European Committee of the Regions, n.d.[37]).
Like in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe, developments towards increased regional and local autonomy took place in post-communist Romania, leading to the current decentralised unitary state model (OECD, 2019[38]). Today, the country’s state territory is divided into eight development regions (regiuni de dezvoltare), 41 counties (judete), and 3181 entities at the local level. The local authorities are composed of 2 861 communes (comune), 217 towns (orase), and 103 municipalities (municipii) (European Committee of the Regions, n.d.[37]). The eight regions solely exist for statistical reasons, but do not possess any subnational forms of government (Regional Development in Romania Law no. 315/2004, (Dragoman, 2016[39])). Among the 42 counties is the country’s capital city, Bucharest, which has the status of a municipality with county rights. The municipality of Bucharest is in turn divided into six ‘sectors’, each having its own local government (Art. 100, Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 regarding the Administrative Code).
Counties are governed by a directly elected county council (consiliul judetean) and a county president that is appointed by the county council. In addition to these subnational governments established by county elections, the central-level government directly appoints a prefect for each county and the Municipality of Bucharest. These prefects serve as the representative of the central government at the subnational level (Art 123, Constitution) and have the right to control the legality of acts issued by the local authorities. Counties have their own competencies in the management of local airports and of the public and private domain of the County as well as of cultural institutions of County interest; administration of public health units of the County; Primary social services and specialised services for victims of domestic violence; Issuing of permits/authorisations; Medical care provided in some public health units (Article 22 of Framework Law no. 195/2006 on decentralisation, revised by GEO no. 42/2016).
Municipalities, towns, and communes are governed by a directly elected local council (consiliul local) and a directly elected mayor (primarul) who is the main budget co-ordinator and responsible for budget execution. Municipalities possess their own competences in a broad range of policy areas, covering infrastructure (e.g. water supplies, local roads), environment (e.g. waste management), local public health, social policy (e.g. child protection) and the management of local cultural heritage (Article 21 of the Framework Law no. 195/2006 on decentralisation, revised in February 2016, revised by GEO no. 42/2016). Further, within the limits defined by the central government, municipalities have fiscal authority regarding tax rates on land, buildings, and means of transport (Hegewald et al., 2018[40]). Chapter 8 on Open State provides more information on the responsibilities of the subnational level of government in Romania, and the open government agenda at the local level.
A legalistic administrative culture and a public sector that shows relatively low levels of innovation/proactivity
As the OECD Public Innovation Scan of Romania (OECD, 2022[41]) notes, the Romanian public sector has had a preference for stability of the status quo over new approaches, favouring continuity over change. According to the Scan, Romanian public servants highlighted complex procedures and legal frameworks and a management reluctant to risk.
Moreover, as the Scan notes, the intrinsic motivation of individual Romanian public servants to experiment and innovate for better outcomes for citizens is often not paired with extrinsic motivators, such as recognition for innovative work (OECD, 2022[41]). This can be linked, for example, with few career incentives and rewards for those who propose new, innovative ways, like in the public service in many OECD countries (OECD, 2022[41]).
Resistance to change was also named as one of the top challenges by public institutions in the OECD Survey on Open Government for Romanian public institutions. Notably, 10 out of 22 (45.5%) responding public institutions identified this as one of the three main challenges that their institution faced when designing and implementing policies that aim to open it to citizens’ inputs and needs.
Frequent changes in governments and short-term oriented decision-making
At the time of writing, Romania had its tenth government in the past ten years in place (Freedom House, 2022[21]). While the Romanian party system used to consist of two large blocks that alternate in forming the government, recent years have shown more combinations of different coalitions of government. This is in part also due to the emergence of several new political parties. The current coalitional agreement holds that the Prime Minister position is currently held by a member of the National Liberal party (PNL), while the Secretary General of the Government comes from the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
Frequent changes of government with an increasing number of different political parties was perceived as one of the main challenges by the government in the Background Report prepared for this Review (Government of Romania, 2022[11]). As the Background Report notes, the process of changing governments binds resources, leading to a focus on activities that require immediate implementation. In turn, this can delay the design and implementation of open government initiatives. Moreover, given changing political visions and priorities, initiatives already underway are sometimes discontinued. Related to restructurations following a government change is staff turnover in Ministries and other central-level institutions, leading to a decrease in institutional knowledge and a need to familiarise new staff with the topic (Government of Romania, 2022[11]).
Concerning Romania’s centre of government more specifically, these observations are shared by the OECD’s review of the centre of government (OECD, forthcoming[42]), noting varying institutional arrangements, set-ups, and mandates for its two core structures – the General Secretariat of the Government (GSG) and the Prime Minister’s Chancellery (PMC). Such reforms are not considered as unusual since they also appear in other countries, but they pose the risk of generating “a loss of skills, waste of resources and short-term institutional memory in central government offices and stand as a major challenge when implementing long-term structural reforms” (Ibid.).
A matter related to frequent government changes is a tendency in Romania for short-term-oriented decision-making. As the OECD Review of the Centre of Government in Romania states, “urgency and political opportunity tend to take precedent over the formal strategic planning process” (OECD, forthcoming[42]). This is illustrated by the fact that – both prior to and following the COVID-19 pandemic – the Romanian government has struggled to complete the Annual Government Work Plan (AGWP). The Annual Working Plan of the Government (AWPG) forms an electronic database where line ministries register their planned legislative initiatives and their foreseen adoption date. While the AWPG contributes towards predictability, the yearly assessment reports show that about one-third of initiatives have been implemented by the ministries (OECD, forthcoming[42]).
Further affecting the predictability of decision-making is the relatively frequent use of Emergency Decrees which enables the government to pass normative acts through a fast-track procedure. According to Article 115 of the Romanian Constitution, the government can adopt emergency ordinances only in extraordinary circumstances, where regulation cannot be postponed and needs to motivate the urgency in their content (Official Gazette of Romania, 1991[43]). Law no. 52/2003 allows public institutions to adopt a draft act using a fast-track procedure without the need for public consultation if there is an emergency or exceptional circumstances which require immediate solutions. In practice, the number of such ordinances passed per year in Romania (around 100) indicates that this provision is interpreted quite broadly (Venice Commission, 2019[44]). This includes also controversial laws, such as Emergency Ordinance no. 16/2022 amending Law no. 52/2003 which specified that due to security challenges, the government can pass laws or ordinances through urgent procedures without parliamentary oversight and public consultations. The Civic Space Review of Romania highlights that civil society interviewees noted that the government continued to apply these provisions very frequently in 2022 (OECD, 2023[13]). This can have detrimental effects on the quality of legislation, separation of powers, and legal certainty (Venice Commission, 2019[44]), especially in light of not all draft emergency ordinances presenting substantiated reasons to justify extraordinary situations (European Commission, 2022[45]). As a positive step, in 2022, the Methodology on good practices for the development and substantiation of the Government emergency ordinance projects as a regulatory instrument was approved by Government Decision no. 1 173/2022.
A country that is well-integrated into the international community
Following the establishment of Romania as a democratic state, the country has taken successive steps of integration into the international community. Most notably, Romania has been a member of the European Union since 2007. Also, as one of the first countries in the region, Romania became a member of the Open Government Partnership in 2011 and is currently implementing its 6th OGP action plan. It is further part of the Open Contracting Partnership and the Community of Democracies. In 2022, Romania formally started the process to become a member of the OECD.
Romania has further signed and ratified numerous international conventions, treaties and declarations which complement the country’s constitutional and legislative frameworks for open government (Table 2.3). For example, Romania has adhered to the 2017 OECD Recommendation on Open Government in 2020.
Trust in government is comparatively low
Using data from the World Gallup Poll, the OECD’s Government at a Glance 2021 (2021[17]) found that confidence in the Romanian government fell from 20% in 2007 to 16% in 2020. By comparison, the average confidence rate in national government among OECD countries is 51%, with a 6.3 percentage points increase from 2007 (Figure 2.5).
Low trust in public institutions is also linked to relatively low levels of public engagement. For example, Romania experiences relatively low turnout at the polls, with 31.8% voter turnout in the 2020 parliamentary elections and 51.2% in the 2019 presidential elections (International IDEA, 2022[46]). While a comparatively low and declining voter turnout can also be observed in surrounding countries such as Bulgaria and Moldova, EU countries, on average, had a 66.8% voter turnout in their most recent parliamentary elections and 56.39% in their presidential elections, for those with such a system (International IDEA, 2022[46]).
Source: OECD (2021[17]), Government at a Glance 2021, OECD, Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/1c258f55-en
Furthermore, a recent 2022 Special Eurobarometer on Corruption showed that 72% of respondents in Romania still considered corruption to be widespread in their country (as opposed to the EU average of 68%) and 46% of respondents feel personally affected by corruption in their daily lives (with an EU average of 24%) (European Commission, 2022[47]). Prominent corruption cases have produced large public debates in Romania, such as the prosecution of a previous party leader through the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (European Commission, 2021[48]; European Court of Human Rights, 2020[49]) or the adoption of the Anghel Saligny National Investment Program (Freedom House, 2022[21]).
In a recent analysis, the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) found that Romania’s compliance with their recommendations on reducing corruption remains “globally unsatisfactory” (Group of States against Corruption, 2021[50]). As the OECD notes, Romania has made some progress over the past decades in strengthening its public integrity system, but there is a “need to reinforce institutions, improve integrity and anti-corruption legislation, and mitigate corruption risks to promote a culture of integrity in the whole of government and society” (OECD, 2022[51]). Perceptions of a lack of government accountability have also affected trust and led to significant demonstrations (Lambru and Dobre, 2020[52]).
Economic inequalities and poverty persist in parts of the country
Since joining the European Union, Romania has had the highest rates of economic growth in the Union. In less than 20 years, the country reduced its gap in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to the OECD average by half, from close to 70% to around 35% today (OECD, 2022[3]). Since entering the European Union 15 years ago, the average net salary has increased 3.5 times.
Economic growth has helped reducing poverty and economic inequalities across Romania. While the population at risk of poverty was 50% in 2007, it fell to 30% in 2020 (OECD, 2022[3]). Nonetheless, Romania’s National Strategy on Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction for the Period 2022-2027 notes that Romania has consistently been among the countries with the highest proportion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion within the European Union. Indeed, Romania’s GDP per capita remains the second lowest in the European Union in 2021 (World Bank, n.d.[53]).
Moreover, considerable regional disparities persist and are higher than the OECD average (OECD, 2022[3]). Despite similar economic growth rates as indicated through GDP per capita, there continues to be a discrepancy between Bucarest/Ilfov and all other regions (OECD, n.d.[54]). Whereas the capital and other larger cities could attract high levels of investment that created better jobs, in vast rural areas people find it hard to make a living (Fina, Heider and Raț, 2021[55]). The most recent OECD Economic Outlook notes that while Bucharest and many secondary cities have become “hubs of prosperity and innovation”, “poverty remains widespread in rural areas” and that this has been aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in marginalised communities.
A changing population
With almost 570 000 individuals, Romania has one of the largest Roma communities in Europe, accounting for 3.4% of the responding population.4 Other relevant ethnic minority groups include Hungarians (6.0%), Ukrainians/Ruthenians and Germans (INSSE, 2022[56]).
Romania’s population has been steadily decreasing for the past three decades. From a maximum of more than 23 million inhabitants in 1990, Romania currently has a population of approximately 19 million people (INSSE, 2022[56]). In comparison with OECD countries, Romania has a low population growth and population density growth in all regions but Bucharest (OECD, n.d.[54]). Since the last census in 2011, population has declined in 39 out of the 42 counties (including Bucharest) (INSSE, 2022[56]). One major reason for this development is the fact that Romania is one of the most important countries for emigration in Europe (Eurostat, n.d.[57]). A first wave of emigration appeared shortly after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. A second wave of emigration started with visa-free entry to the European Union in 2002. It is estimated that almost 1.9 million people have left the country permanently since Romania has joined the European Union.
Accordingly, the political system takes into account the existence of a large Romanian diaspora. The Constitution mandates that the State shall support the strengthening of links with Romanians living abroad. For parliamentary elections in particular, non-resident citizens have special representation, with four geographical districts assigned for non-resident Romanians, electing four deputies and two senators (Vintila and Soare, 2018[58]). A previous government even had a dedicated Ministry for Romanians living abroad. The current government has a Department for Romanians from Everywhere which is under the co-ordination of the Prime Minister. The department elaborates and applies the policy of the Romanian state in the field of relations with Romanians everywhere, and acts to strengthen ties with them and to preserve, develop and express their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity, in compliance with the legislation of the state of which they are citizens or residents, as well as in accordance with relevant international norms.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and of Russian aggression against Ukraine
As in all countries, the global COVID-19 pandemic also created challenges for open government in Romania. In particular, during the state of emergency, public institutions had twice as much time to respond to requests for information of public interest and to petitions (Decree no. 195/2020 on the establishment of a state of emergency in Romania). Further, consultation periods on draft normative acts could be shortened. Moreover, there was a decrease in funding for civil society organisations in 2020, with financial resources being redirected to support national/local measures, and civil society continues to be under financial pressure (see also the Civic Space Review of Romania (2023[13])). At the same time, some positive developments occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as an increasing number of institutions that use online services for meetings, debates, and the provision of information (Government of Romania, 2022[11]) or the establishment of the Official News platform (www.stirioficiale.ro) in partnership with civil society.
Romania shares a border with Ukraine in the east of its territory. As of February 2022, it is estimated that 1.6 million refugees have arrived in Romania (UNICEF, 2022[59]). While the vast majority of them continued to move to other European countries, these refugees needed to be registered and provided basic supplies, such as food and medicine (UNHCR, 2022[60]). As interviewees from both civil society and government have noted, the arrival of such a high number of refugees in a short period has been unexpected and required fast reaction.
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Notes
← 1. The Open Government Recommendation defines “stakeholders” as “any interested and/or affected party, including: individuals, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, religious and political affiliations; and institutions and organisations, whether governmental or non-governmental, from civil society, academia, the media or the private sector”.
← 2. The Romanian government also employs the term “Open Governance”, which is used here as a synonym.
← 3. In 2017, the Ministry changed its name to “Ministry of Public Consultation and Social Dialogue”, because it also took over the dialogue with trade unions and employers.
← 4. Estimations of the share of Roma among the Romanian population vary across sources.