EU officials are concerned about the situation of the Romanian Justice minister Monica Macovei. Susanne Kastner, a vice president of the German Parliament, was warning late last week that the parliamentary motion against minister Macovei, supported by the Romanian Socia-Democrats, Conservatives and "Greater Romania" Party members, might cause the safeguard clauses to be activated in the last minute, in June 2007. German MEP Markus Ferber was expressing his support for the Romanian minister, whom he described as "an architect of Romania's European integration", claiming the initiative against her was unacceptable. German officials' comments seem to have troubled the Parliament of Europe. The EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has recently been rebuked by his colleagues because of his statement expressing esteem for the Romanian minister. He has been warned that he had no right to make such a public statement concerning the domestic affairs of an EU state, according to the www.euexpands.com. The Romanian Social-Democrats have replied that Kastner expressed only a personal opinion and that the European Socialists' official view is to be announced today by vice president Jan Marinus Wiersma. Cristian Diaconescu, a vice president of the Social-Democrat Party, has commented: "If we get to approach politics depending on foreign opinions and views, then we have a real problem of national identity." (A.M.L.)