(ANSA) - BUCHAREST - Romania has made progress in complying with EU recommendations under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) and must move forth with necessary reforms to be able to end monitoring by 2019, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

''We have seen progress in some areas but there is still more work to be done. Romania has met some of our recommendations, but there is not enough progress yet on others,'' the Commission first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, said in a press release reporting on Romania's progress under the CVM. ''I count on the Romanian Government to pursue the necessary reforms, and to avoid backtracking, so that we can work together towards the goal of ending the CVM under this Commission's mandate.'' The Commission will assess progress again towards the end of 2018.

The CVM on Romania was established on January 1 2007 to assess progress against the commitments made by the country in the areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption.

In the previous CVM report released in January 2017, the Commission took stock and gave an overview of the achievements of the past 10 years and the remaining steps needed to achieve the CVM's objectives. (ANSA).