The Foundation For The Defense Of The Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) is launching a petition for public administration reform in Romania, calling for holding accountable public officials who commit abuses. Romania is a country with a great lack of trust in state institutions, much of which is caused by the civil servant-citizen relationship. The FACIAS initiative is a necessary and urgent response to the structural problems in public administration.
An environment conducive to abuse
The data obtained by FACIAS indicates that 98% of complaints against public officials are closed, with sanctions frequently being merely formal. This represents a significant challenge to the public's confidence in the integrity of state institutions. This illustrates a significant deficiency in the current mechanism for holding public officials to account. The current system is ineffective and designed to favour officials over citizens. Complaints are dealt with by internal committees, which are often influenced by collegial relationships or vested interests. This creates an environment conducive to abuse and lack of accountability among civil servants. It is for these reasons that FACIAS calls for administrative reform to hold them to account. Furthermore, it proposes the establishment of an autonomous central authority to investigate complaints against public officials in a transparent and independent manner and to apply real and effective sanctions.
What have other countries done about it?
FACIAS bases its proposal on successful examples from other European countries:
- Estonia: Implemented clear and strict procedures for holding officials to account.
- Sweden: It set up independent disciplinary commissions capable of sanctioning serious abuses.
- Denmark: Officials are bound by strict codes of integrity and violations are severely punished, including dismissal.
Romania can no longer afford to ignore abuses in public administration. We need a system that protects citizens, not tolerates abusive behavior by public officials.
FACIAS invites all citizens to sign this petition to support a real reform to ensure accountability and transparency in all public institutions.
Sign the FACIAS petition and say STOP the abuses of civil servants in Romania!