A criminal investigation as part of a
\ncorruption case was launched last Friday against Romania’s Deputy Prime
\nMinister and Minister of Regional Development Sevil Shhaideh and the Minister
\ndelegate for European Funds, Rovana Plumb.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
According to the National Anti-corruption
\nAgency, Deputy Minister Shhaideh is facing charges of abuse of office during
\nher term as a state secretary with the Regional Development Minister, while
\nRovana Plumb is investigated for conspiracy to abuse of office while serving as
\nEnvironment Ministry. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
According to anti-graft prosecutors, in 2013,
\nthrough the concerted action of people in public office, parts of the Belina
\nIsland and the Danube’s Pavel branch illegally passed from state ownership into
\nthat of the Teleorman county, the fiefdom of the current Social-Democratic
\nleader Liviu Dragnea. After being managed for only a few days by the Teleorman
\nCounty Council, the island and the Danube branch were illegally leased to a
\nprivate company. Prosecutors say state-owned property cannot be passed under
\nthe administration of a certain county council through an emergency ordinance,
\nbut only through law. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The anti-corruption agency has called on the
\nChamber of Deputies to approve the start of criminal prosecution in the case of
\nRovana Plumb, who is a Member of Parliament, while the media, civil society and
\nthe opposition are demanding the resignation of the two cabinet members. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Social Democratic Party, however, has
\ndecided to give the two ministers its full support, explicitly asking them
\nnot to step down, as this might set a dangerous precedent. Here is the Social
\nDemocratic leader Liviu Dragnea:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Many colleagues have said that such an
\napproach is unacceptable and dangerous, that the state has been harmed by a
\ntransfer from public hands into public hands. But if that is so, then all
\ntransfers carried out so far have harmed the Romanian state.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The country’s president Klaus Iohannis has
\nbeen, however, categorical: the ministers under the investigation by the
\nNational Anti-corruption Directorate should step down or be sacked. People
\nfacing criminal investigation or indictment should not be in leadership
\npositions, the president concluded:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The best thing would have been for the two ministers in
\nquestion to have resigned. The second best thing would have been to sack them.
\nThe fact that the Social Democratic Party is closing ranks around them is not a
\ngood sign. I don’t know whether these ministers are guilty or not, and it’s
\nneither for me, nor for the Social Democratic Party to establish this fact. Guilt
\nis something for the judges to establish.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Commentators have noted, however, that there is
\nlittle appetite for cleaning up their ranks among the ruling majority made up
\nof the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. On Tuesday,
\nfor example, the Senate’s Judicial Committee turned down the request of
\nanti-corruption prosecutors to allow the start of criminal prosecution against
\nthe Minister for the Relation with Parliament, the Liberal-Democrat Viorel
\nIlie, who is accused of having intervened in a competition for public jobs in
\nthe ministry. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new political and legal controversy dominates public debates in Bucharest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":74898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28950],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-74897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-corruption"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n