\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ahead of the
\nparliamentary recess, the Romanian Senate on Tuesday passed several
\ncontroversial decisions that have been challenged. The first refers to the
\nrejection of the draft law empowering the Government to issue emergency
\nordinances during the parliamentary recess.
\nFollowing an unprecedented decision in the past 25 years, the draft law
\nwas rejected by 77 votes, obtaining only 25 votes for and 8 abstentions. The
\ndraft law stipulated the main areas in which the Government was empowered to
\nissue emergency ordinances, such as the public finance and the economy,
\nregional development and public administration, healthcare, justice, culture,
\nagriculture and transports. However, the Chamber of Deputies will have the last
\nsay in that matter. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Social Democrat senator Serban Nicolae motivated that
\ndecision saying that it was in the interest of Romania and its citizens that
\nthis technocratic Government should manage only the current issues. On the
\nother hand, the Liberal Senator Puiu Ha\u015fotti
\nsaid that rejecting the Government’s request to issue ordinances during the
\nparliamentary recess had never happened in Romania, and even in the case of
\nminority governments, the deputies had complied with the government’s request.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In another
\ndevelopment, the Romanian Senate decided to give special pensions to mayors,
\ndeputy mayors, the presidents and vice-presidents of county councils after at
\nleast one whole term in office. The measure will not benefit those officials
\nwho received definitive sentences while in office, and the special pension
\nreceived as a local official cannot be cumulated with the MP pension. Supported
\nby the Social Democrats, the draft law was challenged during the debates by the
\nLiberals who claimed the measure was populist. The Liberal Senator Octavian
\nMotoc believes that the mayors should have higher salaries, not special
\npensions. Another decision passed by the Romanian Senate and criticized even by
\nthe Romanian President Klaus Iohannis refers to the Social Democrat senator
\nTitus Corl\u0103\u0163ean, who was
\naccused by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate of abuse of office and of
\npreventing citizens in the Diaspora from exercising their right to vote. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Titus
\nCorl\u0103\u0163ean cannot be prosecuted
\nin the case of the 2014 voting in the Diaspora at the November presidential
\nelection because the Senate did not comply with the National Anti-Corruption
\nDirectorate prosecutors’ request to lift his parliamentary immunity. The
\nprosecutors claim that, in the context of organizing the elections, in his
\ncapacity as foreign minister, Titus Corl\u0103\u0163ean
\nacted in a discretionary manner in organizing the polling stations abroad, thus
\nobtaining undue benefits in favor of Victor Ponta, the presidential candidate
\nnominated and supported by his own party. Prosecutors say Corl\u0103\u0163ean limited the number of Romanian
\ncitizens who could exercise their right to vote aboard. In November 2014 the
\nRomanian citizens in the big European cities of London, Dublin, Madrid, Paris
\nand Vienna denounced the small number of polling stations and of the staff in
\nthe election committees.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The former Romanian foreign minister, Titus Corl\u0103\u0163ean, cannot be prosecuted in the case of the 2014 voting in the Diaspora, and the local officials will receive special pensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":48094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[38529,29841,28945,33056],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-69036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-2014-vote-in-the-diaspora","tag-anti-corruption-directorate","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-titus-corlatean"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n