Financiarul

President Traian Basescu on Friday commented on the decision of the Bucharest Tribunal to suspend Dan Nica as minister of administration and interior, saying that if the objective was to be without an interior minister on the day of the presidential runoff, it has been unfortunately achieved.

‘If the objective was to be without an interior minister on Election Day, it has been unfortunately achieved. There is not at least an acting minister, because the parliamentary majority refuses to get flexible to install a new Government,’ said Basescu.
He added that the opinion of the Bucharest Tribunal is ’somehow interesting,’ given the previous decision of the Constitutional Court in this case.

‘The Bucharest Tribunal has today suspended the decree under which Mr. Vasile Blaga was appointed interim interior minister and deputy prime minister. This is s suspension that occurred after the 45 days of interim expired and, as far as I can see it, it is a somehow interesting interpretation of the court, given that the same decree was challenged before the Constitutional Court under a complaint of conflict of interests between the Presidency and Parliament and the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the Presidency.

That means it ruled that there is no conflict of interest and the decree meets the constitutional requirements,’ said the President. On the other hand, Basescu argued that all the means provided for by the Constitution for similar cases have been exhausted and he will now have to consult with the Constitutional Court.
‘There is no more articles in the Constitution for what is currently happening in Romania. We have a Parliament that refuses to vote either for or against a Government that has submitted its programme, has designed a prime minister and drawn up a list of members.

All the means in the Constitution have been exhausted. I will have to consult with the Constitutional Court to see what solutions can be found. Such institutional blockage has not been provided for in the Constitution,’ the President said. He also made a public call on Parliament to realise what major difficulty is facing the Romanian institutions.

‘We have a Government which interim ministers are out of office because the 45-day legal interim has expired. The legal deadline for its functioning after a non-confidence vote from Parliament has also run out. There are no articles in the Constitution for what is happening now in Romania. All I am left to do is to make a public call on Parliament to convene at least one day and vote for or against the Government recommended and see what solution can be found,’ Basescu concluded.