Promoting Open Parliament Principles (RO0032)

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment Although it is considered the fundamental institution of democracy, in Romania, less than one in five citizens trust the Parliament. This lack of trust stems from the absence of public information on the activity of the Parliament. In the absence of Parliamentary transparency, positive efforts remain unappreciated, and the failure to fulfil the role and attributions of representation cannot be punished. Main objective Increase the transparency of public information and citizens’ trust in public institutions Brief description of commitment The government will encourage dialogue between citizens and representatives of the civil society and representatives of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, in order to adopt policies that ensure the proactive dissemination of information related to the functioning and activity of the institution, including regulations on the format in which the information is made available. OPG challenge addressed by the commitment Increase public sector integrity Relevance Access to information; Accountability; Civic Participation Ambition Adoption by the Parliament of the Open Parliament principles

3. Promoting Open Parliament principles

The government will encourage dialogue between citizens, representatives of the civil society and representatives of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, in order to adopt policies that ensure the proactive dissemination of information related to the functioning and activity of the institution, including regulations on the format in which the information is made available.

Main Objective:

Increase the transparency of public information and citizens’ trust in public institutions.

Milestones:

• Organization of at least 3 public debates on the Open Parliament subject with all interested stakeholders
• Drafting and proposal of an agreement between Government and Parliament, similar to the ”Better Regulation Agenda”, existing in the European Union between the European Commission and European Parliament, a document focusing on transparency in the decision-making process and public consultation.

Responsible institution: Chancellery of the Prime Minister/ Secretariat General of the Government (SGG)

Supporting institution(s): Department for Liaison with the Parliament, Ministry for Public Consultation and Social Dialogue (MCPDS), Non-government: Fundatia Median Research Centre, National Democratic Institute–Romania, Institutul pentru Politici Publice (IPP), Smart City Association (ASC).

Start date: September 2016                                                  End date: June 2018

Editorial Note: The commitment text is abridged. The full text can be found in the OGP 2016–2018 national action plan.

Commitment Aim

This commitment aimed to improve citizens’ trust in legislators—both in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. It sought to encourage a public debate on the principles and on the applicability of the principles of open parliament (Milestone 1), followed by the drafting of an agreement between the Executive and the Parliament that would increase the transparency of the decision-making process and of public consultation (Milestone 2).

STATUS

Midterm: Not Started

This commitment was not started at the time of the IRM progress report.

End-of-term: Not Started

According to the government’s 2018 self-assessment report, this commitment was not started by the end of the action plan. [29]

Did it Open Government?

Civic participation: Did not change

This commitment was not started and therefore did not lead to any change in government practice.

Carried forward?

This commitment is not carried forward in the 2018–2020 national action plan.

[29] “National Action Plan 2016–2018: Self-assessment report”, Open Government Partnership, 2018, page 19, available [in Romanian] at https://bit.ly/2vv2yw7.