Romania and the European Union. Netting the untouchables

THE smell of fish being fried hangs over Bucharest. The European Union wants progress in the fight against top-level corruption and, as Brussels mulls over when to admit Romania, the authorities have started hunting impressive fish: a deputy prime minister, George Copos, an ex-prime minister, Adrian Nastase, and a former economy minister are under investigation. All deny wrongdoing. But the sight of a previously untouchable class facing any scrutiny is welcome. Since the toppling of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, politics in the biggest Balkan country have seen theft matched only by impunity.

No longer. In a huge criminal-justice shake-up, Romania is replacing most of its judges and prosecutors. Last year 1,200, nearly a third of the total, quit. The old lot cannot be sacked; the judiciary is independent. But a new law makes staying unattractive, by requiring officials and their families to publish their assets and incomes on the internet. Villas, cars and other toys are no longer perks of corruption, but an embarrassment. There has been much ridicule of the excuses made by former untouchables. Mr Nastase said his wealth came from his wife's elderly aunt, who had applied previously hidden talents to the property market.

Other changes pushed through by the impressive non-party justice minister, Monica Macovei, include random allocation of cases, so that well-connected defendants can no longer rely on finding a friendly judge or prosecutor. Next she wants computerised courtrooms, quicker trials and better bailiffs. It is too early to say if the new system will be clean and efficient--some fear that greenhorns will be both incompetent and slow. But Romanians' cynicism about their rulers is ebbing. Consider the 60,000 stray dogs that have long menaced Bucharest, biting 80-odd people a day. This week, after a dog killed a Japanese businessman, the outcry and the response were remarkable. The mayor has promised a crash programme of canine sterilisation and euthanasia.

Two figures symbolise the new mood. One is the soft-spoken Mrs Macovei, who once ran the Romanian Helsinki Committee, a pressure group. As justice minister, she now faces down tycoons and politicians used to a minister who takes orders rather than gives them. The other is the country's president, Traian Basescu. A former sea-captain and then a popular mayor of Bucharest, he is now dragging Romania through 16 years of missed reforms.

Justice is only one example. Another is child protection. The country's orphanages were once a "child supermarket" for perverts, pornographers and dodgy adoption agencies, says Emma Nicholson, a European parliamentarian who champions children's rights. She now tells other countries to copy Romania's reforms. Last week she and J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, visited Romania to congratulate Mr Basescu and his colleagues--and to push for mother-friendly reforms in health care, another ill-run and corrupt public service.

A cheerful, salty figure, Mr Basescu is despised by some Romanians with roots in the old elite, who mock his blunt speech and populist touch. But these please the larger number that want change. He is strangely reluctant to deal with the bloated and sticky-fingered intelligence services, arguing that they are now under control and no longer tainted by the communist past--"80% of the officers joined since 1989." He adds that spooks are needed to fight corruption and organised crime. Maybe he can't risk offending them.

Romanians still seem ill-informed about the effects of EU membership. Honey-sellers in the market at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, swarm around a foreigner, asking about new hygiene rules. The answer may be on the internet--but most Romanians are too poor to surf. When customs barriers fall, there will be a blast of new competition from places like Poland. But the gains should be huge: investor confidence, more freedom to travel. At least 2m of Romania's 22m people work abroad, mostly in farm jobs.

The European Commission will issue its report on Romania and Bulgaria in May; an EU summit will then decide when to admit them. Romania is poorer and worse-governed than most, but it is also too big to ignore. So some are suggesting postponing membership by a year, or even indefinitely. Yet Romanians have a ready rejoinder: things are changing fast, if belatedly. The last bunch of new entrants were admitted more for their effort than their achievement, yet there are few regrets today. In short, there is plenty for the EU to dislike about Romania--but keeping it out would not speed its progress.