The Gov’t proposals for Transports and Regional Development ministers to be rejected this week, President says

President Klaus Iohannis has announced on Monday evening that he will reject again the Government’s proposals for the Transport and Regional Development Ministries, namely Mircea Draghici and Lia Olguta Vasilescu.

“The two proposals will be rejected this week. In one day or two, the documents will be completed and sent again to the Government,” President Iohannis said at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, reiterating that his administration will reveal the grounds for the denial in written.

“There are legal matters that must be very well studied and I recommend their study. I haven’t received any other proposals (…) The solution is very simple, the government just needs to carefully read the legislation I invoked and the Social Democrat Party just needs to come up with some proposals to convince me that the ministries will be well run,” Iohannis retorted when asked which is the solution to unblock this situation.

In the President’s view, the Government must meet the conditions, namely to present the papers of the nominated individuals “in compliance with the legislation in force.”

“The law in Romania is mandatory even for the Government and the PSD should come up with proposals that will convince me and all the others that the ministries will be well run,” Klaus Iohannis underlined.

In retort, one of the rejected ministers, Olguta Vasilescu, said she was expecting Iohannis’ third refusal. All the President does is to break the law and the Constitutional Court’s rulings, and this is why the government has already announced that it will notify the CCR again on Tuesday, Vasilescu told Digi24.

Social Democrat deputy Eugen Nicolicea also said that “in order to reject somebody, President Iohannis must also say which are the grounds for his refusal”, adding that the arguments the head of state had presented are “nonsense”.

Another PSD deputy, Cătălin Rădulescu, argued that, no matter if Romania holds the Presidency of the EU Council or not, President Iohannis “must be suspended from office” for he “is harming the Romanian people” and “has nothing to do with the Constitution”.