The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has initiated legal proceedings against the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade, alleging a deficiency in transparency and a refusal to furnish crucial public interest information pertaining to the administration of public financial resources.
In a healthy democracy, transparency and accountability are not merely theoretical principles; rather, they are concrete obligations of public institutions. With this action, FACIAS requests that the court compel the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade to communicate the following details without delay:
- The remuneration of the members of the Management Board and the management of the Agency, including the names, positions, pay slips and total amount of remuneration, must be made available to the public. It is the right of citizens to be informed about the remuneration of those who manage public money.
- The activity report of the Agency should include a detailed account of the activities carried out, the results achieved, and the future plans of the Agency. It is of the utmost importance that the citizens are informed about the manner in which the Agency utilises public funds and the concrete achievements that have been made.
- Major projects should provide details of the actions carried out in the last year, including the specific objectives, results, and sources of funding. It is essential to ensure that any publicly funded project is transparent from its inception to its completion.
- The Agency's budgetary situation including the distribution of funds by main categories of expenditure and investments made. A public institution cannot operate in secret when managing state money.
A suspicious and unacceptable silence
It is concerning that the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade has chosen to disregard FACIAS's request entirely, even going so far as to refuse to register it. This lack of response is not only suspicious but also contravenes the obligation of transparency that any public institution is bound to uphold.
In accordance with the legislation, the right to access information of public interest is not a privilege but a fundamental right of citizens. Through this legal action, FACIAS persists in its efforts to combat institutional abuses and opacity, thereby supporting the right of citizens to be accurately informed about the management of public resources.
The foundation's action is part of the "Turn off the waste tap" campaign, a FACIAS campaign that aims to spend public funds responsibly and transparently.
The legal action initiated by FACIAS serves as a clarion call to all authorities: transparency is not merely an option, but rather a fundamental obligation. Any attempt to withhold information of public interest ultimately undermines the trust of citizens in state institutions and must be met with decisive and robust accountability.
The Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade was established at the beginning of 2023, subordinated to the Government and coordinated by the Prime Minister, by Government Decision no. 153/2023 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade.
The explanatory memorandum of the normative act establishing the Agency does not explain the need for its existence, especially in the proposed form, which practically means breaking off part of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism. At the time of its creation, FACIAS asked the Prime Minister why a new agency was necessary.