Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-12-Speech-2-185"
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"en.20020312.10.2-185"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, child protection in Romania is one of the most important issues arising within the framework of cooperation between the Commission and Romania, and it is an issue which I myself have also dealt with regularly and pro-actively since the start of my term in office.
There is no doubt that there have been serious problems in Romania regarding the protection of children in state-run institutions and also regarding the system of international adoptions. Romania has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children. The Hague Convention signatory states have joined with us in expressing their frequent concerns to the Romanian Government about the very serious shortcomings in the Romanian legislation and procedures governing adoption and the way in which they are implemented in practice.
I must tell you, Mr Gil-Robles, that I personally had no choice but to acknowledge that in Romania, there has been a very high incidence of commercial trafficking of children – which is just about the worst crime imaginable – but that on the other hand, adoptions have of course also taken place entirely in accordance with the proper procedures, and that a substantial grey area between the trafficking of children and normal international adoptions has existed.
The Commission therefore brought intensive pressure to bear on the Romanian Government to embark on a radical overhaul of the entire system, starting with the legislation and including the institutions, structures, procedures and decision-making channels – indeed, every aspect of the process. Nothing in Romania's system of international adoptions could possibly remain as it was.
To ensure that no abuse of children can occur while these reforms are under way, the Commission resolutely supported the imposition of a moratorium on international adoptions. I am very pleased to say that the present Romanian Government has succeeded in enforcing this moratorium. It is not the Commission's policy to block international adoptions. Quite the contrary – the Commission's policy is to help ensure that these international adoptions take place within a system which is entirely transparent, conforms with internationally recognised rules, and excludes any possibility that a single case of child abuse could occur.
I hope that appropriate legislation and administrative procedures will be put in place in Romania within the near future so that the normal systems governing international adoptions can be resumed. The cases which you referred to in your question, Mr Gil-Robles, and which had already been initiated but where a decision was still pending when the moratorium was imposed are being examined by the Romanian Government on a case-by-case basis, and if it is quite clear that there are no problems with the adoption, the Romanian Government has the option of suspending the moratorium in these individual cases. I believe that this will help to resolve the problem you describe.
However, let me say again, Mr Gil-Robles, even though this may not be welcome in some quarters: in striking a balance between protecting children in Romania and the needs of prospective parents – whichever country they may live in – our first priority must always be to protect the child. I think it is quite reasonable to say to families who wish to welcome an adopted child into their lives that they have to wait another few months, rather than run the risk that even a single case of the corruption which was rife in Romania's child protection system could recur."@en1
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