Romania

Openness and transparency

Information about access to parliamentary documents, parliament’s reporting to the public, parliament’s relation to Freedom of Information laws, and lobbying.

Parliamentary documents

The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance.
The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance.
Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site.
Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website.
Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site

Annual reporting by parliament

Parliament publishes an annual report on its activities
The annual report is available on the parliamentary web site
Yes
Notes Some parliaments publish monthly/quarterly reports.
An information bulletin is regularly published on the parliament's website, containing updated data on the current activity of the Chamber of Deputies. The annual report is also published in the Official Gazette of Romania (“Monitorul Oficial al României”).
Parliament publishes the parliamentary budget
Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public: Only the total amount; A summary of the main elements; The complete budget
The complete budget
The parliamentary budget is available on the parliamentary web site
Yes

Access to parliament

Plenary meetings are open to the public
Notes
The Chambers may decide that certain sittings be secret (Constitution, art. 68, § 2). At the request of the President, of a parliamentary group or of at least 20 Senators, a majority of the Senators present can decide that the sitting be secret (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 116).
Committee meetings are open to the public
Notes
Media representatives may attend committee meetings. (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 62, §1). The committee, by majority of votes, depending on the agenda, decides on the character of debates (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 62, §2). Members of other Senate committees or interested Deputies may attend Committee meetings without the right to vote (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 60, §2). Requirements and limitations applicable to the participation in committee meetings of interested persons who have submitted written, justified requests for the right to participate, or to the participation of the Senate's specialized staff, are decided upon by the committee bureau (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 60, §3). Members of the government or their mandated representatives have access to committee meetings (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 61, §1). Committees may request the participation in their meetings of members of the government or members or heads of public institutions, in which case their presence is mandatory (Standing Orders of the Senate, art. 61, §2).
There is a dedicated channel for broadcasting parliamentary meetings A dedicated channel is one that is mainly about parliament, and is accessible free of charge to the general public. The channel might be owned by Parliament or a public or private company. Dedicated channels may be broadcast by parliament, government, or another broadcaster. They may be carried on television, radio or the Internet (webcasting).
Media used for the dedicated channel
Webcast
Meetings broadcast on the dedicated channel
Plenary sittings

Freedom of information

There is a freedom of information law in the country
Yes
Parliament is subject to the freedom of information law
Parliament has an office/division dedicated to FOI requests
Yes
Categories of Information that are exempt from disclosure Certain categories of information may be exempt from disclosure
Art. 12 of Law 544/2001 on Free Access to Public Information.
Exempts the following information from free public access: a) classified information in the field of national defence, public order and security; b) classified information about deliberations of the authorities or Romania’s economic and political interests; c) information about commercial or financial activities if its release would be detrimental to intellectual or industrial property rights or to the principle of fair competition, according to the law; d) personal data, according to the law; e) information about ongoing criminal or disciplinary investigations if disclosure would jeopardize the investigation, reveal confidential sources or endanger a person’s life, bodily integrity or health after or during the investigation; f) information on legal proceedings, if its release would be detrimental to a fair trial or to the legitimate interests of parties to the trial; g) information whose disclosure would jeopardize protective measures for young people.
https://arf.gov.ro/web/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Lege-544-2001_en.pdf

Lobbying

There are rules about the activities of lobbyists in parliament
Source
Lobbying activity is not regulated by Romanian law.
There is a register of accredited lobbyists