The Plenary Session of the Parliament on Wednesday appointed the former PSD deputy Iulian Iancu in the position of member of the Regulatory Committee of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).
There were 224 votes in favor and 86 against. The vote was secret, with ballots.
USR deputy Cristina Pruna slammed the nomination of Iulian Iancu in this position, claiming that he promoted in the Parliament several laws that made Romania “more dependent on Russian gas”.
“Mr. Ciolacu (Marcel Ciolacu, PSD chairman- editor note), I am wondering what key has returned to you so that no later than 5 months later you will completely change your mind regarding Mr. Iulian Iancu. Remember when you did not support him in this position, you doubted that he would be suitable. Remember when President Iohannis, who is now your partner, said that Mr. Iulian Iancu is endangering relations with Western states and that is why he did not even appoint him as Deputy Prime Minister in the Dăncilă Government. Because Iulian Iancu promoted here, in the Romanian Parliament, a law that made us more dependent on Russian gas, not just one, even more, but I am thinking of the Offshore Law that you yourself have also changed Romania’s dependence of Russian gas has reached somewhere around 28%,” said Cristina Pruna.
Ludovic Orban, former PNL chairman, said he was on trial with Iulian Iancu on the grounds that he had acted as a “Gazprom man” and represented the interests of the Russians. “I don’t think I will be in a conflict of interest because I will vote against Iancu’s appointment. I think it is a shame for the Romanian Parliament and especially for PSD, which made this nomination,” Orban added, noting that he is ” a catastrophic election “.
Former PNL deputy Violeta Alexandru stated in her turn that PNL came to “swallow” absolutely anything from PSD.
“I look at the Liberals: Iulian Iancu? Seriously? Don’t you remember 2018 and the Offshore Law, which drove away all decent and serious investors from Romania? Are we really not embarrassed in this country anymore? Let’s put an end to it in the public space, so they can do what they want in the private space, the career of some people to whom everything is worse in Romania, Iulian Iancu in his field. Am I watching the National Liberal Party: Iulian Iancu? That’s how you came to swallow absolutely everything that comes to you from a PSD that is apparently reforming, in reality the same PSD remains with Iulian Iancu supported now? “, added Violeta Alexandru.
PSD MP Alfred Simonis replied that those who criticize Iulian Iancu’s nomination are talking about 2018, when the Offshore Law was passed, but did nothing in 2019 and 2020 to fix this law, although they had the majority and had to come PSD to do this.
“I think some are not embarrassed. The Prime Minister of the Liberal Government together with USR, who liberalized the price of energy and therefore exploded the prices of gas and electricity, comes and talks to us about energy. The USR parliamentarian who announced the first, at night, the liberalization of energy prices and that’s why energy prices have exploded comes and tells us about energy, another minister in the Orban government also tells us about energy “, Simonis pointed out.
On June 8, the former deputy Iulian Iancu was validated by the specialized parliamentary commissions for this position. On May 3, the Parliament decided to vacate a member position in the Regulatory Committee of the National Energy Regulatory Authority, following the resignation of Alexandru Stănescu.
Romanian media has constantly reported that Iulian Iancu’s name has long been associated with the Russian giant Gazprom following Wikileaks. In 2019, however, he won a lawsuit with PNL leader Ludovic Orban, who described him as “the Gazprom man”. Since 2012, Iancu’s name has been circulated several times for ministerial positions, but he was not named due to suspicions that he had links with Gazprom.
In December 2012, information was circulating that the US Embassy had opposed his appointment. These suspicions were fueled by the appearance of Wikileaks telegrams in which he was portrayed as the “Gazprom man”.
More precisely, there were diplomatic notes sent in 2008 from the US Embassy in Bucharest and “declassified” in 2011 by Wikileaks.
Iulian Iancu was described in Wikileaks telegrams by his party colleague Georgian Pop as “controlled by Gazprom”. Georgian Pop also said, quoted by American officials in a telegram published by HotNews.ro, that Iulian Iancu “will support South Stream and Russia’s proposals for gas storage facilities in Mediaș, Moldova and Bucharest”. Georgian Pop was the chair of the SRI Control Committee in Parliament.