Motion for resolution on commemoration of thirty years since Romanian Revolution of December 1989, put to vote in EP

The motion for a resolution on the commemoration of thirty years since the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 will be put to the vote on Thursday in the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg. 

A debate on this topic took place on Monday evening, when the representative of the European Commission, Adina Valean, the transport commissioner, highlighted in front of the MEPs that the Romanian revolution was the last act of the revolt movements in Eastern Europe and the bloodiest and the Romanians fought that winter for freedom, fundamental rights and democracy. 

Through this resolution, the European Parliament calls on the Romanian state to strengthen its efforts to clarify the truth in relation to the events of the revolution, and calls on the institutions of the European Union and its Member States, including Romania, to do their utmost to ensure that the crimes of communist regimes are remembered, and to guarantee that such crimes will never be committed again. 

The Romanian revolution was the most violent of all the uprisings that led to the fall of communism in the states behind the Iron Curtain and resulted in the loss of 1142 human lives, 3138 people being gravely injured, and over 760 individuals being illegally detained and tortured. Also, the use of force against the Romanian people in December 1989 painfully shook all of Romanian society to the core, and the identification of the actual perpetrators of these crimes remains an agonising unresolved issue for the victims, their families and for all Romanian citizens, mentions the text. 

The document, having been drawn up with the contribution of Romanian and foreign MEPs, reproaches the Romanian State has unnecessarily delayed the process of clarifying the truth and making it publicly available, which is paramount to guaranteeing the right of the victims and their heirs to equitable compensation and reparation; whereas the national authorities have failed to act with the necessary due diligence imposed by international human rights norms. 

According to the text of the resolution, the European Parliament commemorates and hereby pays homage to the victims of the December 1989 revolution, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of ending the totalitarian dictatorship in Romania, and to their families; acknowledges that the sacrifice of the peaceful protesters of December 1989 paved the way for Romania's transition towards democracy, the rule of law and the establishment of a market economy, as well as its subsequent integration into the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. 

The vote on the motion for a resolution is scheduled at 13:00 hrs Romania time. 

The European Parliament concludes on Thursday its last plenary session this year.