The legal committee of the Senate has adopted a favorable opinion with amendments to the National Integrity Agency law, meaning that interdictions applied to the MPs found in conflict of interest of ANI during 2007-2013 will stop by right.
The favorable opinion has passed by five votes to two. The draft bill has been initiated by PSD deputy Florin Iordache.
The Chamber of Deputies had passed the amended ANI law last week by 167 votes to 90 and two abstentions.
ANI president Bogdan Stan said back then that the amendments operated on ANI law will prevent the integrity inspectors from applying interdictions. Stan also announced that he would challenge the law, including by filing an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR).
ANI reiterated on Monday that the amended law would have devastating effects on the cases conducted by the agency. They argue that all the ANI’s files where no final sentences were pronounced or no sanctions were applied- could be called off. ANI informs there are 675 such cases of lawmakers, councilors, mayors and county council leaders.
Among those 675 officials, there is also Transport minister Felix Stroe, who has been declared incompatible while he was local councilman in Constanta. ANI has declared Stroe in incompatibility in March 2015 as he had simultaneously held the position of local councilman and the one of president of the Board of Directors in the local water authority.
Other potential beneficiaries of the amendend law are MPs Serban Mihailescu, Liviu Harbuz, Steluța Cătăniciu, Marin Anton, Hubert Thuma, Anghel Stanciu, Iulian Iancu, Ion Călin, Ion Mociolacă, Emanoil Savin, Cornel Resmeriță, but also former MPs William Brânză, Petru Calian, Mihăiță Calimente, Cătălin Croitoru, Relu Fenechiu, Mircia Giurgiu, Laurențiu Nistor, Daniel Oajdea or Mădălin Voicu.