July 23, 2015 UPDATE
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Mihai Pelin, 23.07.2015, 12:05
Gabriel Berca, a member of the National Union for the Progress of Romania, former presidential adviser under Traian Basescu and interior minister in 2012, was taken in custody on Thursday by anti-corruption prosecutors. He is probed into for influence peddling in 2010-2012. According to judicial sources, during that time he allegedly claimed and received from a businessman more than 180,000 euro in exchange for using his personal influence over cabinet members regarding the allocation of public funds to a town hall in Bacău County, in the east.
President Klaus Iohannis has the highest approval rates among public personalities in Romania, followed by the central bank governor Mugur Isarescu and the Ambassador of Romania to Washington, George Maior, indicates a recent opinion poll. The Presidents approval rate is declining, with only 61.6% of the respondents saying they have a lot of confidence in Klaus Iohannis, as against 65% in April. Fourth comes PM Victor Ponta, with 21.7%, and fifth the Mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, with 21.6%.
The Romanian Presidency and Foreign Ministry hailed on Thursday the signature, by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the Republic of Moldova, of an agreement establishing the Alliance for European Integration. The document lays the foundation for a pro-European majority, in conformity with the expectations of the Moldovan citizens, as expressed in the elections of November 2014 and June 2015. Following the talks between the leaders of the 3 pro-European parties, the incumbent education minister, Maia Sandu (43), was nominated as a candidate for the prime minister post. The 3 parties, which together hold 55 seats out of Parliaments 101, agreed in principle to create a new parliamentary majority, following the resignation of Chiril Gaburicis cabinet on June 16. Since then, the government in Chisinau, backed by the communists in Parliament, has been led by the interim PM Natalia Gherman.
