Public administration reform in the context of European integration: Continuing problems of the civil service in Romania

This article examines the role played by European integration in the public administration reform process in Romania, with a focus on the relations between elected political elites and the civil service. It addresses the question whether the constant interaction between EU institutions and the Romanian public administration, supported by the technical nature of accession negotiations and the process of adoption of the acquis communautaire, has led to a greater assertion of the bureaucratic elements of the public administration vis-à-vis the political elites. It finds that progress toward such bureaucratization as well as toward greater professionalization and independence of the civil service has been uneven and limited. The EU's weak involvement in public administration reform in Romania has left underlying power structures largely untouched, and is criticized for not tackling core structural causes of the slow pace of reform located within the public administration itself.