Today, a high-level delegation of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe held a series of official bilateral meetings in Bucharest, on the eve of the 2nd edition of the Rule of Law Forum taking place on 20-21 October 2026.
 
The delegation is led by President Ms Marta Cartabia and includes Vice-President Mr Eirik Holmøyvik, and Members Mr Iain Cameron and Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei, accompanied by the Director, Secretary, Ms Simona Granata-Menghini and Tone Sørfonn Moe of the Secretariat. The delegation had meetings with H.E. the President of Romania, H.E. the Interim Prime Minister, the President and some members of the Senate, the Speaker and some members of the Chamber of Deputies, and the President and some of the judges of the Constitutional Court of Romania.
 
The visits mark thirty-five years of cooperation between the Venice Commission and Romania - a relationship that began even before Romania formally joined the Commission in 1994. In early 1991, Venice Commission experts provided recommendations in two individual expert reports on Romania’s draft Constitution, addressing three foundational aspects of its democratic architecture: the primacy of human rights treaties, the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the establishment of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. That cooperation has continued ever since through opinions on some of the most fundamental questions of constitutional democracy. In the meetings, the Venice Commission delegation expressed its commitment to continuing and deepening that partnership in the years ahead, in the service of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
 
Tomorrow, the delegation will participate in the second edition of the Rule of Law Forum in Bucharest, where President Marta Cartabia will deliver the keynote speech and present the Romanian translation of the Updated Rule of Law Checklist. The Forum is co-organised by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Rule of Law Programme Southeast Europe, the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest, the European Commission Representation in Romania, and the Centre for Strategic Analysis. The co-organisation of this conference is part of the Council of Europe co-operation funded by the EEA and Norway Grants.